A  Book  of   Remembrance 


The  Presbyterian  Church 


NEVJ    SCHOOL 


1837-1869 


An  Historical  Review 


By 
EDWARD   D.   MORRIS,  D.   D..  LL.  D. 

Emeritus  Professor  of   Theology   in    Lane  Set»inary 

COLUMBUS,    OHIO 
1905- 


dalnalna.tMi'i 


Prefatory. 


Vour  fatbm,  where  are  tbey  ? 

JInd  the  Prophets,  do  ibey  live  forever? 

««« 

the  Righteous  shall  be  In  everlasting  Remem- 
brance. 

««« 

E  Book  of  Remembrance  was  written  before  film 
for  them  that  feared  the  Cord,  and  that 
thought  upon  fils  name. 


««« 


malk  about  ZIon,  and  go  round  about  her;  tell 
the  towers  thereof:  mark  ye  well  her 
bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces;  that  ye 
may  tell  it  to  the  Generation  following. 


««« 


If  1  forget  Chee,  0  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand 
forget  her  cunning:  Tf  T  do  not  remem- 
ber Chee,  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof 
of  my  mouth ;  If  T  prefer  not  Jerusalem 
above  my  chief  jov. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter   First. 

American'  Presbyterianism. 

Its  Transplantation  and  Development. 

European  Protestantism  imported  to  America:  its  vari- 
eties and  locations.  General  conditions  of  development:  1. 
progressive  sundering  of  European  connections ;  2.  geo- 
graphic collocation  and  commingling ;  3.  separation  between 
Church  and  State  —  voluntaryism;  4.  liberty  of  thought  and 
of  speech.  Presbyterianism  transplanted,  subject  to  these 
conditions ;  history  of  its  introduction ;  its  development, 
doctrinal,  ecclesiastical.  Doctrinal  Basis.  Calvinistic.  West- 
minster Symbols  adopted,  1729 :  conflicting  views  of  inter- 
pretation and  subscription :  consequent  disruption,  1741. 
Reunion  of  1758,  its  basis  and  character ;  liberal  rule  of  sub- 
scription. Church  increase  and  expansion  subsequent ;  na- 
tive ministry  provided  for :  spiritual  depression  during  Rev- 
olutionary War.  First  General  Assembly,  1788  ;  its  doctrinal 
position  and  standards ;  denominational  extension ;  gracious 
revivals  amid  current  unbelief.  The  Cumberland  Schism,  its 
occasion,  nature,  issues ;  estimate  of  the  event.  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Basis  :  the  Presbj'terian  polity,  its  affinities  with  Calvin- 
ism. European  type  modified  in  America :  liberal  adminis- 
tration preferred ;  union  of  1758  an  illustration ;  the  Cum- 
berland division  a  departure :  further  development  of 
polity.     First  Century  of  the  Church. 

Chapter  Second. 

The  Disruption   of   1837. 

Second  Century  opening  auspiciously :  conditions  of  con- 
flict remaining;  general  statement.  Causes  of  Disruption 
named ;  1.  differences  in  interpretation  of  confessional  doc- 
trine ;  2.  questions  respecting  liberty  in  subscription  —  toler- 
ation ;  3.  issues  as  to  church  polity  —  loyalty  to  Presbyterian 
system ;  4.  as  to  undenominational  or  ecclesiastical  agencies 
in  Christian  work  ;  5.  diverse  estimates  of  revivals  ;  6.  duty 
of  the  Church  respecting  slavery.  Each  of  these  causes  de- 
scribed :  centers  of  antagonism  noted.  Pl.\n  of  Union,  fur- 
ther occasion  of  conflict ;     Plan  described ;     its  practical  work- 


ings  ;  ground  of  difference.  The  Disruption  :  earlier  stages 
—  trials  of  Barnes,  Duffield,  Beecher ;  Edwardean  Calvinism 
arraigned  ;  growing  divergence  in  doctrine ;  ecclesiastical  and 
other  issues  involved.  Later,  stages :  rupture  becoming  inev- 
itable. Plan  of  Union  challenged;  Assembly  discussions  and 
struggles  :  the  final  excision,  —  an  extra-constitutional  pro- 
cedure. 

Chapter    Third. 

Genesis  and  Evolution. 
1838-1849 
The  Excluded  Party:  its  perplexed  condition;  synods 
and  presbyteries  maintained ;  adverse  influences.  Auburn 
Convention,  first  step  toward  organization  ;  its  members  and 
character ;  protest  against  the  disruption ;  ecclesiastical  pro- 
cedure determined  upon.  The  Auburn  Declaration,  its  or- 
igin, doctrinal  contents,  mediate  character  ;  not  a  creed  but  a 
commentary.  Subsequent  Events  :  Commissioners  to  the 
Assembly  of  1838,  their  admission  refused,  consequent  struggle 
for  organization,  withdrawal ;  another  Assembly  constituted. 
Assembly  of  1838,  its  composition  and  acts  ;  protest  against 
the  excision  ;  steps  toward  full  organization  ;  condition  of  the 
churches;  its  Pastoral  Letter.  Assembly  of  1839;  growth  of 
the  young  Church  :  Proceedings  of  the  Assembly  ;  division  of 
property  sought ;  doctrinal  soundness  affirmed ;  organization 
progressing;  another  Pastoral  Letter.  Assembly  of  1840 ;  at- 
tendance; general  temper;  growth  of  the  Church  amid  strug- 
gles ;  revivals  reported ;  undenominational  societies  approved. 
Declaration  of  Principles  issued ;  change  to  triennial  Assem- 
blies. Assembly  of  1843,  its  composition  and  .spirit,  action  on 
various  subjects;  general  position  more  fully  defined.  Nar- 
rative of  Religion  indicates  progress ;  discouragements,  an- 
tagonism, state  of  the  Church.  Hope  of  reconciliation  and 
union  given  up.  Assembly,  1846-47;  process  of  evolution 
going  on.  amid  hindrances;  fellowship  with  other  Churches, 
protracted  discussion  respecting  slavery ;  return  to  annual 
Assemblies  agreed  upon.  Adjourned  to  meet  in  1847;  doubts 
as  to  constitutionality  of  this  meeting,  only  routine  business 
transacted  ;  special  interest  in  home  missions.  Assembly  of 
1849;  close  of  first  decade;  growth  and  consolidation  re- 
ported; Church  realizing  its  position  and  mission.  Action  on 
various  subjects,  including  slavery  ;  denominational  extension 
discussed ;    comparative  statistics. 

Chapter  Fourth. 
Organization   and  Advance. 
1850-1859 
Second    Period   now    dawning;     general    condition,    pros- 
pect of  further  growth,  the  problem  of  organization.     Assem- 


Hi.v  OF  1850:  twelve  States  represented.  Home  missions  the 
ceiltral  subject;  church  extension  urged,  denominational  re- 
sponsibility ;  obstacles  to  growth  removed.  Position  and 
claims  of  the  Church ;  an  important  book  of  defense.  As- 
sembly OF  1851  ;  place  and  attendance;  its  transactions,  de- 
liverances on  various  subjects,  —  the  Sabbath,  temperance, 
slavery.  Church  extension  advocated  ;  revivals  reported  ;  pro- 
test against  church  rivalry.  Assembly  of  1852,  convened  in 
Washington.  Three  important  measures  adopted :  1.  De- 
nominational agency  for  home  missions;  relations  to  Amer. 
H.  M.  Society.  2.  Education  for  the  ministry,  theological 
seminaries.  Western  Education  Society.  3.  Publication  of 
church  literature ;  Quarterly  Review.  New  departure  deter- 
mined. Assembly  of  1853,  plans  of  preceding  year  followed; 
home  missions,  education,  tract  publication.  A  fourth  meas- 
ure, church  erection  ;  fund  provided.  Debate  on  slavery.  Re- 
vivals noted.  Assemblies  of  1854,  1855,  1856.  General  situ- 
ation favorable.  Church  extension  still  the  controlling  inter- 
est ;  four  main  departments  review^ed.  Church  organization 
matured ;  fraternal  correspondence  maintained ;  action  on 
various  subjects.  Many  revivals,  but  no  net  growth;  causes 
noted.  Assembly  of  1857 ;  large  attendance.  Church  exten- 
sion ;  growth  of  denominational  feeling.  Protracted  debate 
on  slavery ;  deliverance  adopted ;  withdrawal  of  southern 
commissioners.  Formation  of  the  United  Synod  South ; 
statistics  of  the  secession.  Assemblies  of  1858,  1859:  Church 
development  the  chief  interest ;  important  reports  on  missions, 
education,  publication,  church  erection.  Organization  now 
complete ;  obstructions  to  progress  removed.  Religious  life 
and  activity.     Review  of  the  entire  decade. 

Chatter   Fifth. 

Maturity    and  Consummation. 

Church  Growth  described;  third  and  final  decade;  two 
main  events,  the  Civil  War,  and  Church  Union,  mark  the  per- 
iod. AssE.MBLY  OF  i86'J :  home  missions ;  connection  with 
Amer.  H.  M.  Society  dissolved ;  Church  erection  fund  dis- 
tribution ;  ministerial  education  considered.  Connection  with 
Amer.  B.  C.  Foreign  Missions  continued.  Assembly  of  1861, 
large  attendance ;  Civil  War  begun.  Peril  to  all  church  work 
involved ;  each  department  carefully  considered.  Bible  and 
Tract  Societies  endor.sed.  Declaration  of  loyalty  to  the  Gov- 
ernment adopted  ;  prayer  for  President  Lincoln,  for  the  army, 
for  the  country  enjoined.  Assemblies  of  1862.  1863,  1864; 
Activity  in  all  church  work;  special  difficulties  encountered. 
Plan  for  ministerial  relief  instituted;  systematic  beneficence 
urged.  Narratives  of  Religion  encouraging.  Repeated  dec- 
larations of  loyalty ;    letters  to  the  President ;    committee  sent 


to  Washington.  Organic  union  with  the  Church  O.  S.  dis- 
cussed. Assembly  of  18O5  :  Return  of  civil  peace  welcomed ; 
death  of  President  Lincoln  deplored;  pledge  of  loyalty  re- 
newed. Church  work  in  all  departments  prosecuted  with 
vigor ;  duty  of  fresh  consecration  urged  ;  claims  of  the  f reed- 
men  considered ;  slavery  condemned  ;  sympathy  for  the  suffer- 
ing South.  Assemblies  of  1866,  1867,  1868:  Period  of  marked 
advance ;  renewed  zeal  along  all  lines  of  work ;  extensive  revi- 
vals reported :  remarkable  accessions.  Deliverance  on  state  and 
claims  of  the  country ;  copies  sent  to  the  President  and  Con- 
gress. Negotiations  respecting  organic  union.  Assembly  of 
1869 ;  full  attendance,  extraordinary  interest.  All  depart- 
ments of  church  work  and  life  reviewed;  favorable  reports. 
Other  important  action  taken.  Organic  Union  the  chief 
matter  ;  detailed  account  of  proceedings  ;  terms  of  union  con- 
sidered ;  deliberation  and  conference.  Basis  agreed  upon  to 
be  submitted  to  pre.sl)yteries.  Adjourned  meeting  in  autumn  ; 
Basis  of  union  endorsed,  final  action  taken.  Assembly  dis- 
solved;   independent  church  life  closed. 

Chapter  Sixth. 

The  Union  of  1869. 

Union,  not  return  or  admittance:  a  new  Church  organ- 
ized from  existing  materials;  a  formal  compact.  Assembly 
OF  1870,  composition  and  spirit :  Process  of  organization ; 
first  step,  adjustment  of  boundaries  —  polity;  second  step, 
denominational  agencies  —  church  boards  and  committees , 
hoard  of  foreign  missions  freedmen ;  third  step,  relation 
of  theological  seminaries  to  the  Church.  General  Conditions 
recognized:  i.  Cordial  regard  —  mutual  confidence.  2.  Cor- 
dial acceptance  of  church  polity,  —  loyalty  and  liberality.  3. 
Substantial  uniformity  in  belief  and  doctrine ;  basis  of  1758. 
Catholicity  of  the  Assembly ;  fraternal  correspondence ; 
Southern  Church  invited  to  exchange  delegates.  Wisdom, 
temper,  diligence  of  the  Assembly;  Narrative  of  Religion; 
statistics.  The  Union  Justified  :  survey  of  results,  internal, 
external.  Presbyteriaitisni  exalted  through  it.  Will  the 
United  Church  Survive?  History  shows  frequent  divisions, 
in  Scotland,  in  America ;  causes  suggested.  United  Church 
not  exempt.  Dangers  noted  ;  in  sphere  of  doctrine,  of  polity, 
of  administration.  Two  guarantees :  First ;  faithful  adher- 
ence to  the  compact  of  Union  ;  its  basis,  its  concurrent  declar- 
ations, its  temper  of  love  and  trust.  Second  ;  devotion  to  the 
work  providentially  ordained  for  the  Church  ;  extent,  variety, 
grandeur  of  that  work,  internal,  external  ;  an  expanding  fu- 
ture;   a  sublime  mission,  its  unifying  power. 

A  Personal  Word. 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 

American  Presby  i  erianism. 
Its  Transplantation  and  Development. 

The  history  of  the  Christian  Church  contains  hardly 
anv  chapter  of  greater  interest  than  that  which  recounts 
the  progressive  importation  of  the  various  types  of  re- 
hgious  thought  and  hfe  in  Europe  to  this  new  contrnent, 
and  their  respective  rooting  and  growth  in  its  virgin 
soil.  It  is  true  that  many  other  incentives,  such  as  the 
lust  of  empire,  the  greed  of  gain,  the  spirit  of  adven- 
ture, the  aspiration  after  a  measure  of  freedom  which 
could  not  be  secured  anywhere  in  the  Old  World,  were 
blended  largely  with  the  distinctively  religious  motive, 
in  inducing  the  remarkable  migration  which,  running 
on  through  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries, 
populated  and  possessed  the  continent.  But  such  secu- 
lar incentives,  however  strong  or  pervasive,  could  never 
have  brought  about  that  migration,  with  all  its  nudti- 
plied  developments  and  issues,  had  not  the  religious 
factor  been  present,  in  addition  to  all  other  agencies, 
both  animating  and  regulating  the  complex  process  of 
colonization.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  that  in- 
teresting series  of  colonies,  extending  from  Massachu- 
setts to  the  Carolinas,  which  were  founded  and  1)uilt 
up  into  strength  by  representatives  from  the  British 
Isles  and  from  the  adjacent  sections  of  northern  Eu- 
rope. 

The  colonist  at  Jamestown,  though  actuated  in  large 
measure  by  other  motives  political  and  personal, 
brought    his    Episcopacy    with    him    under    the    royal 


10  AMERICAN  PRESBYTER! AXISM. 

charter,  and  gave  it  from  the  firsi  a  conspicuous  place 
in  his  organized  existence.  The  Dutch  settlement  in 
New  York,  estahlished  almost  simultaneously  with  that 
in  Virginia,  had  its  distinctive  type  of  both  doctrine  and 
ecclesiastical  order,  derived  directly  from  the  parental 
source  in  the  Reformed  Protestantism  of  Holland. 
Even  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower  the  immigrants 
to  New  England,  acting  on  the  basis  of  Puritanism, 
ordained  the  supremacy  of  the  church  over  the  state, 
and  from  the  outset  their  strong  religious  convictions 
ruled  in  their  public  as  in  their  personal  life.  A  little 
later  came  the  Lutheranism  of  Sweden  to  seek  under 
royal  patronage  a  provincial  home  in  Delaware,  bring- 
ing with  it  as  its  chief  treasure  that  sturdy  form  of  Pro- 
testant belief  which  had  travelled  northward  from  its 
primal  seat  in  Germany,  and  had  found  cordial  accept- 
ance in  the  country  of  Gustavus  Adolphus.  Roman 
Catholicism  also,  springing  not  froiu  the  ultramontane 
but  from  the  finer  English  stock,  planted  itself  in  the 
same  period  in  adjacent  Maryland,  mainly  as  a  refuge 
for  persecuted  Catholics,  yet  with  a  degree  of  tolera- 
tion for  immigrants  holding  the  Protestant  faith.  In 
like  manner  the  Calvinism  of  France,  represented  by 
Huguenot  colonists  resident  at  various  points  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  but  chiefly  in  the  Carolinas,  established 
itself,  especially  after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  as  one  of  the  permanent  religious  forces  in  the 
New  World.  William  Penn  brought  with  him  the  doc- 
trines and  usages  of  the  disciples  of  Fox,  and  incor- 
porated them  as  fundamental  constituents  in  the  colony 
which  l)ore  his  name.  At  an  earlier  date  Roger  Wil- 
liams  founded   the  colony  of  Rhode  Island,   primarily 


TRANSPLANTATION  AND  DErELOPMENT.      11 

to  be  the  representative  of  his  l)elief  respecting  the 
sacrament  of  l)aptisni,  and  of  his  doctrine  of  rehgious 
liberty.  Dnrins;  tlie  later  decades  of  the  centm-y  Scotch 
rresbvterianisni.  though  existinj^  in  an  luiorganized 
form  until  the  Ijegimiino-  of  the  centin-y  sulxscquent, 
became  a  distinct  and  prolific  element  in  the  religious 
life  of  New  Jersey  and  the  adjacent  iirovinces.  It  is 
needless  to  refer  to  other  and  minor  varieties  of  reli- 
gious belief,  transplanted  at  earlier  or  later  dates  into 
the  scattered  settlements  along  the  Atlantic  shore.  The 
striking  general  fact  is  that  in  these  various  ways 
almost  every  influential  type  of  Protestant  faith  or 
polity  in  Europe  was  reproduced  on  American  soil, 
and  became  from  the  first  a  factor  more  or  less  con- 
spicuous and  commanding  in  giving  form  and  char- 
acter to  American  life. 

But  that  reproduction  was  largely  aiTected  in  its- 
historic  development  by  certain  special  conditions  amid 
which  these  transplanted  faiths,  and  also  those  that 
followed  them  during  the  eighteenth  century,  took  root 
and  grew  into  maturity  in  the  Xew  World.  The  vital 
relations  of  soil  and  air.  sunshine  and  shower  and  other 
contributing  agencies,  to  the  unfolding  and  maturing 
of  the  living  plant  may  serve  as  an  illustration  here. 
These  special  conditions  deserve  passing  thougli  it  be 
brief  consideration  : 

One  of  these  was  the  progressive  separation  of  these 
colonial  faiths  from  the  Churches  of  the  Old  World, 
with  all  that  such  separation  involved.  The  Atlantic 
was  indeed  a  broad  ocean  in  those  primitive  days,  and 
communication  was  both  scant  and  infrecjuent.  Yet 
for  a   long  time   each   of   the   transplanted   orgaiiism.s: 


12  AMERICAX  PRESBYIERIANISM 

clung-  with  a  filial  tenacity  to  its  parental  connection. 
Each  preserved  so  far  as  possible  the  ancestral  names 
and  usages,  imported  its  ministry  and  its  educating 
agencies,  and  but  slowly  adjusted  itself  to  its  modifying 
environment.  All  alike  shrank  from  the  possibility 
that,  in  the  exigencies  of  frontier  life  on  a  continent  so 
vast  and  distant,  the  venerated  creeds  of  Europe  might 
come  to  be  regarded  as  no  longer  binding,  and  the 
historic  forms  of  polity  and  worship,  so  precious  in 
memory,  might  be  thoughtlessly  set  aside.  There  was 
real  peril  at  this  point,  as  the  rise  of  some  erratic  and 
grotesque  developments,  especially  in  New  England, 
clearly  showed. 

Rut  on  the  other  hand  too  close  an  adherence  to  these 
ancestral  connections,  too  much  of  the  traditional  ele- 
ment, too  infantile  dependence,  would  have  proved  re- 
pressive, if  not  fatal  to  healthful  growth.  It  was  better 
that  broad  seas  should  roll  between  the  parental 
Churclies  and  their  American  representatives  —  espe- 
cially between  the  old  Protestantism  with  its  rigid 
forms  and  teachings,  and  that  young  Protestantism 
that  was  to  spring  up  into  vigor  and  fruitfulness  on 
American  soil.  While  what  was  inherited  was  to  be 
cherished  and  so  far  as  possible  preserved,  these  im- 
planted organizations  were  constrained  to  become  in 
large  measure  independent  in  their  development  — 
more  and  more  acclimated  to  the  soil  wherein  they  were 
to  take  root.  One  marked  illustration  of  this  necessity 
appears  in  the  fact  that  those  denominations  have 
thriven  most,  and  are  now  exerting  the  most  potent 
infiuenoe  as  religious  forces  in  the  nation,  which  were 
the  readiest  to  drop  off  foreign  names  and  usages  and 


TRANSPLANTATION  AND  DEVELOPMENT.      13 

affiliations,  and  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  demands 
of  their  position  as  distinctively  American   Churches. 

A  second  condition  appears  in  the  geographic  collo- 
cation and  commingling  of  these  denominations,  and 
in  their  consequent  struggle  for  existence  and  for 
growth  in  their  new  spheres.  In  the  Old  World, 
geographic  boundaries  were  keeping  apart,  not  only 
Romanism  and  Protestantism  generally,  but  also  the 
various  types  of  Protestantism ;  and  in  the  American 
colonies  similar  territorial  lines  at  first  separated  sect 
from  sect,  giving  to  each  its  own  special  area  of 
development.  Virginia.  Xew  York.  New  England, 
Maryland.  Delaware,  had  each  its  own  authorized  and 
dominating  Church,  even  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others. 
But  by  the  necessities  of  the  case  such  segregation  could 
not  be  permanent.  As  new  settlements  began  to  be 
formed  in  the  developing  provinces,  and  common  in- 
terests drew  together  in  many  ways  the  adherents  of 
differing  sects,  it  became  impracticable  for  any  one 
Church  to  maintain  an  exclusive  title  to  denominational 
supremacy  in  any  part  of  the  public  domain.  Provin- 
cial seclusion  gradually  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  de- 
sirable or  just ;  the  right  of  each  sect  to  establish  itself 
wherever  opportunity  offered,  came  by  degrees  to  be 
broadly  recognized ;  the  aspiration  to  be  not  provincial 
but  continental  began  to  actuate  all  alike ;  and  the  grad- 
ual diffusion  of  their  various  types  of  faith  and  order 
throughout  the  continent  was  the  final  result. 

Such  diffusion  and  commingling  produced  their 
natural  consequence  in  eager  struggle  for  position,  for 
influence,    for   church    supremacy.      The    spirit   of   the 


14  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

denominations  inevitably  came  to  be,  not  one  of  friendly 
amity  and  mutual  helpfulness,  or  even  of  amicable 
rivalry  :  too  often  it  degenerated  into  a  temper  of  sus- 
picion, of  aversion,  and  even  of  open  antagonism.  As 
the  domain  to  be  occupied  broadened  and  became  con- 
tinental, the  effort  to  possess  it  became  more  and  more 
intense;  and  an  era  of  sectarian  zeal  and  strife  such  as 
has  hardly  a  parallel  in  Christian  history  followed. 
Yet  it  is  pleasant  to  note  that  the  severe  strife  of  sects 
in  America,  a  phenomenon  as  pamful  as  it  is  unique, 
was  one  which  by  its  own  nature  could  not  be  perma- 
nent. The  warfare  of  the  Puritan  against  the  Baptist, 
of  the  Episcopalia'n  against  the  Quaker,  of  sect  with 
sect,  could  not  last  always.  Each  Church  was  com- 
pelled to  acquaint  itself  with  the  principles  and  methods 
of  other  Churches :  minor  dififerences  were  gradually 
seen  to  be  unimportant :  contact  and  comparison  tended 
at  length  to  induce  concord  :  and  from  the  whole 
experience  there  emerged  by  degrees  a  practical  toler- 
ation and  a  measure  of  mutual  respect  and  confidence 
such  as  has  appeared  in  no  other  land. 

A  third  condition  to  be  noted  is  the  progressive 
separation  of  the  Church  in  whatever  variety  from  the 
State,  and  the  universal  enthronement  of  the  voluntary 
principle  in  church  support.  How  much  the  Regium 
Donum  and  other  kindred  bestowments, —  the  asserted 
obligation  of  the  civil  power  to  contribute  toward  eccle- 
siastical maintenance,  and  the  consequent  obligation  of 
the  ecclesiastical  to  sustain  the  civil  power,  and  even  to 
submit  spiritual  matters  to  its  control,  has  done  to  cor- 
rupt the  Church  in  belief  and  action,  in  head  and  mem- 


TRAXSrL.iXTATIOX  AND  DHrELOPMEXT.       15 

hers,  is  well  enough  known  to  every  careful  student 
of  the  religious  history  of  the  Old  World.  The  same 
theory  was  at  first,  and  for  long  periods,  regarded  as 
valid  and  authoritative  by  most  of  the  American 
Churches,  h^ir  generations  every  property  holder,  of 
whatever  religious  belief,  was  re(|uire(I  b\'  law  to  sup- 
port financially  the  established  E])iscoi)ac\-  of  X'irginia. 
A  century  has  not  passed  away  since  the  maintenance 
of  the  local  church  was  laid  as  a  legal  obligation  on 
every  resident  of  the  Connecticut  parish.  Similar  re- 
quisitions prevailed,  with  more  or  less  of  rigor,  in  most 
of  the  colonies. 

But  the  various  attempts  to  establish  State  Churches 
came  bv  degress  to  be  recognized  as  defective  in  both 
theory  and  practice,  and  were  gradually  abandoned. 
The  broader  principle  that  any  specific  form  of  reli- 
gion should  be  maintained  by  those  only  who  accept  it, 
and  that  in  the  eye  of  civil  law  all  existing  varieties 
of  religious  belief  should  not  only  stand  on  precisely  the 
same  footing,  but  should  be  alike  left  to  stand  or  fall 
according  as  the  zeal  or  the  indifference  of  their  adher- 
ents might  determine,  came  by  degrees  to  be  generally 
accepted.  The  obligation  of  the  State  to  protect  and 
foster  the  common  Christianity  continued  to  be  recog- 
nized :  the  propriety,  for  example,  of  exempting  from 
taxation  property  devoted  exclusively  to  religious  uses 
was  widely  admitted  :  public  worship  and  the  Sabbath 
were  protected  ;  but  no  consequent  right  to  dictate 
terms  of  religious  belief  or  prescribe  rules  of  church 
administration  or  discipline  was  anywhere  allowed. 
The  State  might  neither  enact  laws  establishing  reli- 
gion nor  prohibit  the  free  exercise  of  religion,  nor  re- 


1(3  AMERICAN  PRESBVTERIAXISM. 

quire  any  religious  test  as  a  qualification  for  civil  trust 
or  office.  Within  its  own  sphere  the  Church  of  what- 
ever name  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  kingdom  not  of 
this  world  —  a  kingdom  far  above  all  civil  jurisdiction 
or  control,  so  far  as  its  own  interests  were  concerned. 
That  there  were  son.ie  undesiralile  consequences 
following  from  a  change  so  radical  —  from  the  en- 
thronement of  voluntaryism  as  the  universal  rule,  may 
easily  be  admitted.  It  too  often  tended  to  develop  an 
inordinate  denominational  zeal. —  to  incite  an  intense 
though  narrow  love  of  sect  or  of  party  which  was  in- 
consistent with  broad  and  generous  regard  for  the  one 
Church  Catliolic.  It  sometimes  imjiosed  too  great  bur- 
dens on  the  membership,  esjiecially  in  the  erection  of 
sanctuaries  and  the  support  of  ordinances.  It  occasion- 
ally led  selfish  and  worldl}-  minds  into  indifference  to 
the  claims  and  blessings  of  the  Christian  faith  as  repre- 
sented and  expressed  in  and  through  the  Church.  Yet 
voluntaryism  has  justified  itself  an  hundred  fold  in  the 
energy  it  has  induced,  in  the  temper  of  sacrifice  it  has 
engendered,  in  the  better  administration  of  church 
afifairs,  and  in  the  loftier  estimate  of  religion  which  it 
has  taught  the  people  at  large  to  cherish.  It  has  proved 
its  value  also  in  the  larger  interest  it  has  developed  in 
all  varieties  of  Christian  beneficence  and  charity,  in  the 
generous  support  given  by  individual  nuuiificence  to 
all  forms  of  higher  education,  and  in  the  zeal  for  mis- 
sions supported  by  free  gifts  and  including  the  whole 
race  of  man  within  their  loving  and  Christlike  sweep. 

Absolute  liberty  of  thought  and  of  speech  was  still 
another  general  condition,  closely  related  to  the  preced- 


TR.lXSPLJXT.rnON  A\'D  nFJ'ELOPMENT.       17 

ing, —  the  tviU  rij^lit  of  every  denoniination  and  of  each 
bchever  to  ex])ress  and  declare  in  all  i^roper  wavs 
their  res])ective  convictions,  withciit  check  or  restraint 
either  by  the  arm  of  civil  law  or  thrtmo^h  any  repressive 
force  of  popular  sentiment.  That  rig-ht,  as  all  know, 
was  distinctly  enunciated  in  the  Reformation  :  it  is  em- 
bodied in  the  very  word.  Protestant.  It  stands  out  in 
perpetual  antitliesis  alike  to  the  claims  of  churchly 
authority  in  whatever  form,  and  to  all  assumption  by 
the  State  of  an\-  warrant  to  prohiiiit  the  free  expres- 
sion of  personal  belief  within  the  civil  domain.  It  is  a 
rit^ht  inherini2:  inalienably  in  all  intellit^ent  minds,  espe- 
cially within  the  religious  sphere.  How  much  the  ex- 
ercise of  this  right  was  challenged  and  obstructed  in 
Europe  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centu- 
ries, is  known  to  all  historical  students.  Instances  are 
not  wanting  in  America  where  both  the  State  and  the 
Church,  and  the  Church  Protestant  as  well  as  Papal, 
have  attempted  to  invade  this  right,  and  under  some 
pretext  to  repress  legitimate  freedom  of  speech.  Yet 
it  is  to  the  glory  of  American  Christianitv,  and  espe- 
cially of  American  Protestantism,  that  it  has  more  and 
more  tirmlv  and  cordially  come  to  recognize  this  ina- 
lienable prerogative  as  vested  not  only  in  the  Church 
as  an  organization.  l)ut  in  eacli  believer  as  a  moral  per- 
son, supremely  accountable  for  his  belief  and  his  utter- 
ances to  Ciod  alone. 

That  there  are  serious  dangers  accompanying  the 
exercise  of  such  liberty, —  that  it  may  degenerate  into 
reckless  license,  or  become  a  medium  of  destructive 
error,  or  an  inciting  cause  of  revolution  and  anarchy 
within  the  religious  s])here.  is  (|uite  ol)vious.     Cnder  the 


18  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

banner  of  free  thought,  all  varieties  of  opposition  to 
the  Christian  Faith,  all  types  of  unbelief  however  irra- 
tional have  at  times  banded  themselves  together,  and 
wrought  immeasurable  mischief  to  the  cause  of  true 
religion.  Nor  is  it  strange  that  in  the  natural  revolt 
against  such  perversion  of  liberty,  thoughtful  minds 
should  sometimes  question  the  validity  of  the  principle 
itself,  or  should  seek  shelter  from  such  dangers  under 
the  wing  of  what  is  supposed  to  be  an  infallible  and 
authoritative  Church.  Neither  is  it  strange  that  the 
Church  should  sometimes  assert,  even  to  an  unwarrant- 
able degree,  its  right  to  protect  itself  against  such  per- 
nicious license,  especially  when  manifest  within  its  own 
commiuiion. 

Still,  the  right  to  think  as  one  chooses  concerning 
religious  matters,  subject  only  to  the  scrutiny  of  con- 
science and  the  tests  of  right  reason,  and  the  correlated 
right  to  express  under  proper  limitations  what  is  be- 
lieved, is  a  heritage  so  precious,  a  privilege  so  unques- 
tionable and  sacred,  that  we  may  well  rejoice  that  it 
came  so  early  to  be  recognized  in  the  American  colo- 
nies, and  has  now  become  so  thoroughly  established 
as  an  essential  condition  of  American  Christianity. 
Protected  by  positive  statutes  and  by  court  decisions, 
upheld  by  multiplied  ecclesiastical  deliverances  in  its 
defense,  and  sustained  by  concurring  popular  senti- 
ment, such  liberty  of  thought  and  of  speech  has  become 
for  all  the  future  a  primal  principle  both  in  our  per- 
sonal and  in  our  denominational  life  as  a  people  — 
a  law  luiiversal  and  unchallengeable. 

Such  in  l^rief  were  the  four  generic  conditions  under 
which  the  various  Christian  denominations  in  America 


TRAXSPL.IXT.niOX  AXD  DErtLOl'MEXT.       ID 

began  their  existence  and  development,  and  by  these  the 
Presbyterian  Cliurch  found  itself  surrounded  and 
affected  from  the  first,  as  it  took  its  place  among  these 
religious  bodies,  and  entered  upon  its  ordained  and 
distinctive  work.  While  it  retained  with  tenacity  its 
affiliation  with  European  and  especially  with  Scotch 
Presbyterianism,  it  still  was  constrained  even  from  the 
outset  to  recognize  its  essential  independency,  and  to 
take  on  forms  and  features  such  as  the  new  continent 
with  its  fresh  and  unique  life  was  imposing.  And  while 
it  naturally  emphasized  its  own  strong  system  of  belief 
and  its  particular  form  of  ecclesiastical  organization, 
even  claiming  for  the  latter  an  exclusive  jure  divino 
authority,  it  was  at  once  compelled  to  adjust  itself  to 
the  companionship  of  other  sects  claiming  like  warrant, 
to  recognize  their  rights  and  their  excellencies,  and  to 
labor  side  bv  side  with  them  in  substantial  harmony 
for  the  promulgation  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

So,  while  in  Europe,  especially  in  Britain,  it  had  as- 
pired to  become  a  state  religion,  and  had  claimed  pecu- 
niary as  well  as  moral  sustenance  from  the  civil  power, 
here  it  was  obliged  from  the  beginning  to  depend  en- 
tirely on  voluntary  support,  even  while  Episcopacy  and 
Independency  were  still  receiving  contributions  to  their 
respective  maintenance  from  or  through  public  treas- 
uries. And  in  like  manner  it  was  obliged  at  an  early 
day  to  drop  off  all  ecclesiastical  assumption  in  matters 
of  belief,  and  to  grant  not  liierely  to  its  own  ministry 
and  membership,  but  to  all  men  of  whatever  religious 
body  or  whatever  shade  of  religious  opinion,  full  demo- 
cratic libertv  in  thouglu  and  speech.     In  all  this  it  had 


20  AM  ERIC  AX  PRESBVTERIAXISM. 

a  notable  example  in  that  bold  and  firm  independence 
of  spirit,  as  against  all  civil  control,  which  had  led  the 
Assembly  of  Westminster  to  stand  out  so  bravely 
against  both  the  asserted  domination  of  Charles  I.  and 
the  equally  unwarranted  domination  of  Cromwell. '  A 
free  Church  in  a  free  State  became  its  motto  and  aspi- 
ration, even  from  the  outset  in  its  organized  career; 
and  this  freedom,  assumed  for  itself  and  justly  and  gen- 
erously asserted  alike  for  all,  became  one  of  its  cardinal 
characteristics. 

The  manner  of  its  transplantation  strongly  em- 
phasizes the  need  of  conformity  with  these  practical 
conditions.  That  transplantation  indeed  began  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century  when  Presbyterianism  found  its 
first  home  in  the  New  England  colonies,  and  became 
a  visible  though  an  unorganized  type  of  Protestantism 
at  other  points  along  the  Atlantic  shores.  Churches 
presbyterially  constituted  and  grounded  doctrinally  in 
the  Westminster  Symbols  thus  came  into  existence 
here  and  there,  sparsely  during  the  first  but  especially 
in  the  latter  half  of  the  century.  But  the  process  of 
denominational  evolution,  bv  which  such  churches  be- 
came organicallv  one  in  and  through  the  presbytery, 
and  the  sect  as  such  took  its  rightful  place  among  the 
existing  denominations,  was  postponed  until  the  dawn 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  From  that  time  the  process 
of  denominational  organization  went  on  imder  the  con- 
ditions already  named,  and  the  body  became  an  inde- 
pendent, a  catholic,  a  voluntary,  and  a  free  and  liberal 
Church, —  putting  ofT  bv  its  own  choice  not  merely  the 
narrownesses  but  even  in  some  measure  the  legitimate 
characteristics  of  the  mother  Church  wliether  British 


rRANSPLAXrATIOX  AND  DEVELOPMENT.      21 

or  Continental,  and  accepting  freely  all  that  was  need- 
ful in  strncture  or  spirit  to  make  it  truly  and  heartily 
American. 

It  is  not  needful  here  to  trace  in  detail  the  inter- 
esting history  of  this  implantation,  or  to  em])hasizc 
further  the  conditi(jns  under  which  the  young  denom- 
ination grew  into  vigor  antl  intluence.  Turning  rather 
to  the  organic  evolution  that  followed,  we  may  note  in 
brief  its  two  main  elements,  the  doctrinal  and  the  ec- 
clesiastical : 

American  Preshyterianism  was  from  the  outset 
founded  as  to  doctrine  generically  upon  the  Calvinism 
which.  centerii]g  and  generating  in  (kmeva.  had  worked 
its  way  with  remarkable  energy  northward,  not  only  on 
the  continent,  but  into  the  British  Isles. —  where  in  fact 
it  gained  and  held  a  firm  position  even  after  it  had  in 
some  measure  declined  in  commanding  force  beyond 
the  Channel.  More  especially  it  was  founded  on  the 
Confession  and  Catechisms  of  Westminster  as  being 
the  last  and  best  formularies  of  Calvinism :  faithfully 
representing  that  doctrinal  system  as  distinguished 
from  both  Lutheranism  and  Arminianism.  Under  the 
teaching  and  training  of  that  remarkable  system  the 
young  denomination  was  developed  from  the  start  and 
through  successive  generations :  and  from  it  there  has 
never  been,  as  to  essential  and  generic  principles,  any 
marked  departure.  From  the  organization  of  the  first 
Presbytery  in  1706.  and  especially  of  the  first  Synod 
in  1717,  the  Church  —  it  may  safely  be  aflfirmed  —  has 
continued  to  be  in  all  stages  and  varieties  truly  Calvin- 
istic. 


22  AMERICAN  PRESBVTERIAXISM. 

But  differing  views  as  to  what  is  really  essential  in 
Calvinism,  differing-  interpretations  of  particular  doc- 
trines, differing  judgments  as  to  the  degree  of  minute- 
ness and  stringency  with  which  subscription  to  the 
accepted  formularies  should  he  required,  arose  early. 
(Jne  prominent  source  of  such  differentiation  reveals 
itself  as  one  notes  the  composite  and  somewhat  diverse 
elements  brought  together  in  the  young  organism. — 
particularly  the  foreign,  such  as  the  Scotch  and  Irish 
and  other  European  constituencies  on  one  side,  and  the 
native  and  more  thoroughly  American  on  the  other. 
( )ther  sources  aj^pear  in  the  extended  and  complex 
doctrinal  system  itself,  in  varieties  of  speculative  ten- 
dency manifest  in  the  interpretation,  in  different  modes 
of  explaining  and  applying  specific  truth,  and  especially 
in  tlie  exercise  of  that  rational  liberty  which  all  were 
in  form  agreed  in  allowing.  This  differentiation  made 
its  appearance  at  an  early  day.  even  in  the  conflict  re- 
specting the  proper  rule  of  suliscription  to  the  Adopt- 
ing Act  itself.  The  Synod  had  been  constituted  twelve 
years  before  by  the  subdivision  of  the  original  Presby- 
tery into  three  (perhaps  four)  but  its  membership  had 
been  held  together  rather  through  s])ontaneotis  affinity 
and  through  agreement  respecting  church  carder  than 
by  any  jirescribed  com]:)act. —  the  Adopting  Act  oi  1729 
lieing  the  hrst  formal  affirmation  of  the  doctrinal  basis 
on  which  the  Church  was  planted.  The  rule  laid  down 
was  clear  and  just.  While  recognizing  the  liberty  of 
opinion  vested  in  all  alike  and  disclaiming  any  inten- 
tion to  impose  its  form  of  belief  on  the  conscience,  the 
Synod  held  and  agreed  that  the  Confession  and  Cate- 
chisms of  Westminster  should  henceforth  be  formallv 


Th'.ixsrL.ixT.rnox  .i.\n  nr.ri-.LOPMrixr.     s.i 

:\(l(i])tc(l  "as  l)finj^^  in  all  the  cssenlial  and  necessary  ar- 
ticles good  forms  of  sound  words  and  s\stenis  (syste- 
matic statements)  of  Christian  doctrine."  and  as  such 
should  he  received  and  adopted  l)y  all  who  luight  hold 
office  within  the  Church. 

l')U.t  the  imderlying  (|uestion  as  to  what  are  essential 
and  necessarv  articles,  and  as  to  the  measure  of  liherty 
to  he  allowed  in  the  interpretation  of  the  good  forms 
of  sound  words,  still  remained.  In  1730  it  was  declared 
hv  the  Synod  that  all  candidates  or  intrants  must  re- 
ceive and  adopt  the  Symhols  in  exactly  the  sense  agreed 
upon  liy  those  who  concurred  in  the  Adopting  Act ; 
and  in  1734  ])articular  incjuiry  was  mstituted  as  to  the 
measure  of  com]jliance  with  this  rule,  though  not 
without  opposition  in  the  interest  of  denominational 
freedom.  In  1736  the  stricter  party,  heing  in  the  ascen- 
dency numerically,  and  helieving  that  dangercnis  dis- 
tinctions were  heing  introduced  as  to  certain  essential 
articles  and  their  interpretation,  secured  the  further 
declaration  that  the  Synod  adhered  to  the  Symhols. 
not  onl\-  as  containing  the  true  system  of  doctrine,  but 
also  as  involving  their  acceptance  "without  the  least 
variation  and  without  regard  to  such  distinctions." 
Such  rigiditv  of  subscription  was  not  contem])lated  by 
the  Westminster  Assembly  neither  was  it  required  in 
Scotland  or  Ireland  until  it  seemed  to  be  demanded 
as  a  safeguard  against  the  influence  of  Episcopacy  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  subtle  tendency  to  .-Xrianism  or 
Moderatism  on  the  other. 

Nor  could  a  rule  so  rigid  command  universal  ac- 
ceptance within  the  Synod  itself,  and  by  degrees  the 
difTerentiatiim   between   the  two  parties,  conservatives 


24  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  liberals,  become  so  acute  as  to  bring  about  contro- 
versy, conflict,  destructive  antipatbies,  ending  in  tbe 
disruption  of  1741  — tbe  first  in  tbat  series  of  disrup- 
tions wbicb  more  tban  almost  any  otber  cause  bave  bin- 
dered  tbe  grovvtb  and  influence  of  Presbyterianism  on 
the  continent.  It  is  needless  to  speak  of  tbe  specific 
aspects,  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  doctrinal,  wbicb  tbe 
general  issue  assumed.  Tbe  story  of  tbe  struggle  be- 
tween the  Old  Side  and  the  New  Side,  as  tbe  parties 
were  respectively  called,  is  a  story  not  merely  of  dis- 
cussion and  difl^erence  as  to  doctrine  and  order,  but 
also  of  narrowness  and  partizanship,  of  suspicion,  alien- 
ation, bitter  antagonism,  wholly  unworthy  of  men  who 
bore  the  Presbyterian  name.  It  is  easy  now  to  see  tbat 
a  calmer  temper,  a  broader  spirit  of  fraternity,  a  larger 
measure  of  Christian  msight  and  wisdom,  might  bave 
held  and  ought  to  bave  held  the  parties  together  within 
tbe  one  Church,  notwithstanding  all  the  irritating  is- 
sues involved. 

But  in  spite  of  all  attempts  made  by  moderate  men 
on  both  sides  to  Ileal  the  festering  sore,  the  separation 
continued  for  seventeen  long  years, —  both  parties  and 
especially  the  New  Side  increasing  in  numbers,  each 
organized  in  separate  presbyteries  and  synods,  though 
both  were  all  the  while  agreed  as  to  tbe  general  terms 
and  conditions  of  tbe  Adopting  Act  itself.  But  concil- 
iatory opinion  and  sentiment  began  more  and  more  to 
displace  the  original  antagonism,  and  in  1758  a  formal 
reconciliation  was  effected,  resulting  in  tbe  organiza- 
tion of  tbe  unified  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia. Tbe  history  of  the  negotiations,  continued 
through  six  or  eight  vears,  which  led  on  to  this  result  — 


TR.IXSPf..LyTATIOX  JXD  DEI' EI.OI'M EXT.      25 

of  the  various  proposals  for  coniproinise  and  agreenictn. 
and  the  proloniii^ed  and  patient  labors  of  the  interme- 
diate partv  with  both  classes  of  extremists,  is  not  only 
interesting"  in  itself  hut  is  full  of  instruction  to  all  who 
desire  to  know  what  the  doctrinal  foiuidations  of  Amer- 
ican I'resbyterianism  tndy  are.  The  object  sought  was 
well  defined  by  the  Synod  of  I'hiladelphia,  four  years 
earlier,  as  the  uniting'  of  the  various  j)resbyteries  and 
synods  in  one  body  "on  such  scrijitural  and  rational 
terms  as  may  secure  ])eace  and  ortler,  tend  to  heal  the 
broken  churches,  and  advance  religion  hereafter." 

The  union  thus  secured  was  not  a  mere  scheme  of 
aggrandizement  to  be  effected  through  the  combining 
of  denominational  forces,  without  establishing  internal 
and  essential  concord  as  a  condition  ;  the  movement 
was  rather  in  the  interest  of  that  catholic  unity,  that 
communion  of  saints,  which  according  to  their  Confes- 
sion ought  to  characterize  Presbyterians  everywhere. 
Its  doctrinal  basis  was  none  other  than  the  Adopting 
Act  of  1729,  before  tliat  Act  had  been  interpreted  by 
the  Old  Side  as  requiring  subscription  without  the  least 
variation,  and  with  no  recognition  of  the  distinction 
between  things  essential  and  things  not  essential  in  the 
accepted  system.  Its  truly  Christian  spirit,  as  well  as 
its  broad  doctrinal  quality,  is  admirably  set  forth  in 
the  Plan  of  Union  as  finally  adopted.  In  earnest  terms 
that  noble  docimient  describes  the  injury  done  to  the 
Church  and  to  the  cause  of  religion  through  the  dis- 
ruption, pleads  for  the  taking  away  of  all  occasion  for 
reproach  and  the  banishing  of  all  jealousies,  exhorts 
to  submission  to  the  will  of  the  majority  and  the  cor- 
dial cultivation  of  the  sentiment  of  brotherhood,  pro- 


26  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

nounces  all  careless  charges  of  heresy  or  heterodoxy 
a  censurable  evil,  urges  the  uniting  of  divided  presby- 
teries and  congregations  wherever  practicable,  defines 
the  proper  standard  of  church  membership  and  the 
true  tests  of  religious  experience,  and  affirms  it  to  be 
the  solemn  purpose  of  all  concerned  to  advance  through 
the  Union  the  common  kingdom  of  Christ  among  men. 
During"  the  half  century  prior  to  1758,  the  young 
denomination  had  grown  from  the  single  presbytery 
centered  at  Philadelphia  into  an  ecclesiastical  body  of 
consideralile  magnitude,  notwithstanding  the  mischief 
wrought  through  the  disruption,  and  may  fairly  be 
said  to  have  already  taken  its  |)lace  by  the  side  of  Con- 
gregationalism and  of  Episcopacy  as  one  of  the  three 
dominating  types  of  Protestantism  on  American  soil. 
Its  area  had  extended  nortliward  into  .\evv  York  and 
Long  Island,  and  st)Uthward  into  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia, and  at  the  date  of  the  Union  it  comprised  nearly 
a  hundred  organized  churches  and  a  somewhat  larger 
numl)er  of  ministers.  The  (jreat  Awakening  which 
under-  the  preaching  of  Whitefield  and  lulwards  and 
others  of  kindred  spirit  had  ([uickened  so  thoroughly 
the  religious  life  of  New  England,  had  imparted  a  like 
gracious  impulse  to  the  Presbyterian  churches,  even 
while  the  unhappy  division  continued,  and  doubtless 
contributed  largely  to  the  union  itself.  Meanwhile 
new  missionary  fields  were  opening  to  view  in  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  and  also  in  \'irginia  and  the 
Carolinas,  wherever  immigrants  of  the  Presbyterian 
faith  from  l^)ritain  or  from  the  Continent  became  resi- 
dent. There  is  pleasant  evidence  that  the  conscious- 
ness of  such  a  missionary  work  in  ])P»spect  —  of  the 


TRAXSPL.tXT.lTIOX  AXP  imi'IlLOPMllXT.      -11 

manifest  and  attractive  opportunity  to  ])lant  tin-  old 
and  revered  standards  on  new  soil,  had  as  much  as  the 
developed  sense  of  essential  oneness  even  amid  diversi- 
ties in  belief,  to  do  witli  the  consummation  of  the 
union  itself.  I'^or  nothinj;;^  unifies  Christians  like  the 
consciousness  of  a  common  work  to  he  done  tt)gether 
for  (lod  and  the  souls  of  men.  It  nnist  l)e  confessed, 
how^ever,  that  that  needful  and  l)cneficent  work  would 
liave  i)een  nuich  hetter  done  I)\  the  Church  durinj^'  tlie 
cji'encration  that  followed  the  union.  Iiad  the  disastrous 
disruption  never  occurred. 

i'hat  generation  mcludes  hotli  the  peri(*d  of  ante- 
cedent agitation  in  ci\il  affairs  and  the  years  and  trials 
of  the  Revolution,  and  extends  to  the  formation  of  the 
first  ( ieneral  Assembly  in  1788.  Doctrinal  issues  had 
now  retreated  largely  from  view,  in  the  presence  of 
the  ])olitical  struggle  that  issued  finally  in  national  in- 
dej)endence.  It  was  a  time  of  extraordinary  trial  antl 
of  severe  ])rivati()n.  Religion  was  at  a  low  ebb  in  the 
cf)untry  at  large.  The  churches  were  enfeebled  in  l)Otii 
membershi])  and  resources.  The  influx  of  ministers 
from  Kurojje  diminished  steadil\-  and  finally  ceased 
altogether.  It  was  to  provide  a  native  rather  than  a 
foreign  ministry  that  Princeton  College  was  founded,, 
even  during  the  ])eri()(l  of  disruptitju  :  without  its  con- 
trilmtions  in  the  generation  that  followed,  the  minister- 
ial supjily  would  have  been  totally  inade(|uate.  As  early 
as  1761,  the  imitcd  Synod  declared  it  important  tliat 
special  ])rovision  l.e  made  by  the  College  for  the  better 
instruction  of  students  in  the  knowledge  of  divinitv  p 
and  in  1768.  IVesident  Withersjioon.  soon  after  his 
inauguration,  gave  lectures  on  theol()ir\-  and   also   in- 


28  AMERICA:^  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

structed  candidates  for  the  ministry  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures.  In  1771,  special  provision  was  also  made 
for  the  partial  support  of  students  engaged  in  such 
studies.  But  the  churches  were  too  poor  either  to 
maintain  properly  such  supplies  as  they  already  had, 
or  to  push  forward  adequately  the  missionary  work 
of  the  denomination,  whether  in  the  colonies  then  es- 
tablished or  in  the  new  settlements  which  were  rapidly 
being  jjlanted  on  the  frontier  lines  of  civilization.  And 
during  the  dark  years  of  the  Revolution  the  impedi- 
ments to  denominational  progress  were  in  various  ways 
greatly  multiplied.  Ministers  were  persecuted  for  their 
loyalty,  always  conspicuous,  to  the  cause  of  independ- 
ence ;  sanctuaries  were  sometimes  seized  by  the  royal 
forces,  congregations  were  scattered,  and  sacred  ordi- 
nances and  worship  suspended :  presbyteries  and  the 
Synod  met  but  infequently,  and  spiritual  desolation 
was  widespread. 

With  the  return  of  peace  through  the  establishing 
of  constitutional  government  and  the  new  nationality, 
the  interests  of  the  Church  rapidly  revived.  The  scat- 
tered congregations  came  together  again ;  ministers 
and  missionaries  were  more  fully  supplied  and  more 
adequately  supported,  and  the  great  task  of  church 
extension  was  resumed  as  fast  as  resources  and  oppor- 
tunities allowed.  And  in  1788,'  five  years  after  the 
close  of  the  War,  the  final  step  in  perfecting  the  con- 
tinental organization  of  the  Church  was  taken  in  the 
constituting  of  the  first  General  Assembly  at  Phila- 
delphia. It  is  important  to  refer  to  this  procedure  just 
here,  only  to  direct  attention  to  the  doctrinal  position 
of  the  denomination  at  this  interesting  juncture  in  its 


TR.-IXSPL.LXT.ITIOX  .LXP  ni-rF.LOr.MI'.XT.      29 

liistory.  Xo  ohani;"cs  wrrc  made  in  the  Confession  of 
Faith  excej)!  at  those  ])i)iiits  \vliicli  treated  of  the  civil 
iil^overiiment  and  mai^istracy,  and  these  anien(hiients 
consisted  sinipK-  in  an  exchision  of  all  asserted  claim 
of  the  civil  autliDrity  to  interfere  in  church  doctrine 
or  administration.  The  amended  C'onfession  atifirmed 
indeed  the  ohligation  of  the  q()\ernment  to  protect 
the  Christian  Church  of  whatever  name  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  its  spiritual  privileges,  hut  declared  also  that 
all  classes  and  hodies  of  Christians  should  enjoy  an 
eqtial  measure  of  religious  libertv.  without  interference 
by  the  State.  The  Catechisms  were  also  adopted  as 
authoritative  formularies,  with  the  significant  omis- 
sion of  the  clause  which  in  the  original  declared  the 
toleration  of  a  false  religion  to  be  one  of  the  sins  for- 
bidden in  the  second  commandment. 

But  while  this  action  was.  like  the  Adopting  Act 
of  1729,  a  formal  commitment  of  American  Presby- 
terianism  to  the  theology  of  Westminster,  there  is 
abundant  evidence  that  the  action  was  taken  in  no 
temper  of  extreme  ecclcsiasticism.  During  the  War 
the  influence  of  the  foreign  element  in  the  Church, 
from  which  chiefly  the  demand  for  strictness  in  sub- 
.-cription  liad  come,  had  steadilv  declined,  and  in  fact 
had  almost  whollv  given  wa\'  to  the  more  liberal  and 
catholic,  the  more  American,  disposition  of  Wither- 
spoon  and  his  associates.  The  s])irit  of  libertv  was 
quite  as  prevalent  in  the  Church  as  in  tlie  country, 
and  the  strong  sense  of  brotherhood  which  was  bind- 
ing the  colonies  together  and  drawing  them  all  not- 
withstanding minor  ditTerences  into  unitv  within  the 
rine  centralized  government,  had  its  counter])art  in  the 


:30  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

fraternal  and  mutuaily  trustful  disposition  of  the 
large  majority  of  those  who,  whether  from  Britain 
or  the  Continent  or  from  New  Fngland,  now  consti-. 
tuted  the  one  denomination  doctrinally  as  well  as 
ecclesiastically.  Indeed  the  strongest  objection  to  the 
adoption  of  the  Westminster  standards  seems  to  have 
come  from  those  who  questioned  whether  it  was  best 
for  the  young  Church  to  be  hampered  in  belief  or 
teaching,  as  they  feared  it  might  be,  through  the  for- 
mal acceptance  of  any  such  authoritative  formularies 
•of  faith.  Had  the  effort  been  made  to  proclaim  the 
Confession  and  Catechisms  as  doctrinal  standards  to 
be  accepted  without  the  least  variation,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  distinctions  between  the  essential  elements 
and  the  elements  not  essential  to  the  Calvinistic  sys- 
tem, there  is  good  reason  to  conclude  that  the  first 
Assembly  could  not  have  been  organized  as  it  was, 
at  least  without  the  loss  of  some  of  its  most  intelligent 
and  liberal  and  most .  thoroughly  American  constitu- 
ents. 

The  Church  thus  organized  now  grew  far  beyond 
its  original  boundaries,  migrating  by  degrees  from  the 
Atlantic  coast  into  central  New  York  and  Pennsylva- 
nia, crossing  the  Alleghenies  by  the  two  or  three 
:great  mountain  passes,  and  gaining  a  foothold  even 
in  Kentucky  and  Ohio.  It  was  soon  represented  by 
four  synods,  composed  of  the  membership  of  sixteen 
presbyteries,  which  in  turn  comprised  more  than  four 
hundred  congregations  and  about  half  as  many  min- 
isters. The  rapid  development  of  the  country,  socially 
and  commercially  as  well  as  politically,  was  favorable 


TRANs/'i..L\ r.iriox  J.\'J>  njiriii.oi'MiiXT.    si 

to  this  marked  expatisioh. —  especially  as  this  was 
aided  before  loiio^  by  the  considerable  imniij^ration 
from  Presbyterian  regions  in  the  Old  World.  In 
many  respects,  the  prospect  of  larg^e  orjj^anic  growth 
and  of  even  continental  intluence  seemed  bright  as  the 
morning. 

Rut  it  is  also  true  that  the  baleful  spread  of  irreli- 
gion.  particularly  through  the  poisonous  growths  of 
the  open  unbelief  so  current  in  b'rance  and  also  in 
England,  proved  to  be  a  powerful  hindrance  to  this 
denominational  development.  Skejitical  philosophies, 
false  theories  of  life,  flagrant  vices  originating  dur- 
ing the  War  and  abundant  afterwards,  the  secular 
spirit  and  the  zeal  of  new  enterprise  absorbing  the 
thoughts  and  strength  of  the  multitude. —  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  bitter  jjolitical  controversies  developed  in 
the  process  of  framing  and  organizing  the  civil  gov- 
ernment —  constituted  in  their  combination  a  barrier 
to  religious  progress,  in  all  denominations  alike,  which 
seemed  at  times  to  be  absolutely  insurmountable.  Such 
adverse  agencies  would  indeed  have  been  insurmount- 
able, had  not  the  gracious  help  of  God  at  this  juncture, 
just  as  the  new  century  was  dawning,  manifested 
itself  in  that  remarkable  series  of  revivals  which,  what- 
ever may  be  said  of  their  grotesque  and  sometmies 
highly  objectionable  accompaniments,  changed  so  de- 
cisively the  moral  aspect  of  society,  and  lifted  the 
whole  nation  up  to  a  higher  religious  level.  It  was 
found  by  actual  experiment  that  the  evangelical  doc- 
trines, and  among  Presbyterians  that  the  Calvinistic 
exposition  of  these  doctrines,  still  had  a  potency  which 
unbelief,    however    intellectual    or    courtlv,    however 


32  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

gross  or  malignant,  could  not  withstand.  It  was  found 
that  the  faithful  proclamation  of  these  doctrines  hy 
those  who  helieved  them  and  lived  up  to  their  hchei, 
could  convince  men  of  sin  and  turn  them  unto  right- 
eousness, could  confirm  and  quicken  languid  churches, 
could  stir  wholi  commi^nities  and  regions  with  the  im  • 
piilses  of  a  divme  life,  and  could  confute  skepticism 
by  a  living  and  practical  process  which  no  skepticism 
in  any  age  has  ever  been  able  to  gainsay.  Within  a 
few  short  years,  through  these  revivals  affecting  espe- 
c'ally  the  western  half  of  the  Church,  but  manifest- 
ing then-  efficacy  also  at  many  points  in  more  easterly 
sections,  the  whole  denomination  was  lifted  up.  not 
only  spititually  and  numerically,  but  doctrinally  also. 
Its  confidence  in  the  practical  as  well  as  theoretic 
cogency  of  its  theological  system  had  been  greatly 
strengthened,  and  its  determination  to  state,  proclaim, 
defend,  exalt  its  Calvinism  became  stronger  and 
stronger. 

Yet  out  of  such  a  condition  and  purpose  arose  by 
a  singular  evolution  another  doctrinal  agitation  and 
conflict,  culminating  in  what  is  known  historically  as 
the  Cimiberland  Schism.  It  is  not  strange  that  in  the 
stir  and  zeal  of  such  revivals  the  growth  of  congre- 
gations and  the  opening  of  new  missionary  fields 
shouUl  exceed  the  capacitv  of  the  Church  under  its 
ordinary  methods  to  supply  the  wide  ministerial  de- 
mand. Nor  is  it  strange  that  sucli  extraordinary  de- 
mand should  be  met  here  and  there  by  bringing  into 
service  as  ministers  some  who  had  not  attained  that 
degree  of  mental  discipline  and  equipment  which  had 
been  regarded  by  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  ever 


'rR.i.\srf..i.\r,ri'/(>.\  .ixn  niiii-.i.of'MiiXT.    33 

svil)S(.'(|ueiitly,  as  cssciuial  in  tlio  sacred  ofiicf.  Xeithor 
is  it  strange  that  in  the  ])ractical  apphcation  of  the 
Calvinistic  formularies  in  such  seasons  of  excited 
revival  there  should  he  some  among  accredited  min- 
isters who  relatively  ceased  to  lay  stress  on  the  sov- 
ereignty of  ("lod  in  grace  as  in  nature,  and  on  the 
dt])ravati()n  and  utter  helplessness  of  sinners  a]:>art 
from  eti'ectual  grace,  and  who  einphasized  rather  the 
aliility  and  the  duty  of  all  men  to  re])ent  and  helieve, 
and  the  r  ct)nsequent  guilt  for  ever\-  moment  of  im- 
l)enitence  or  unlielief. 

Xor  is  it  remarkahle  that  it  should  he  affirmed  1)\' 
some  earnest  men  of  this  class,  not  indeed  without 
some  show  of  reason  as  is  now  admitted,  that  if  cer- 
tain i)ro])ositions  in  the  Confession  did  not  positively 
teach  a  spiritual  fatalism  as  ahsolute  as  anv  fatalism 
in  nature,  they  were  at  least  so  far  fatalistic  in  form  and 
in  the  impression  they  made  on  many  minds,  that  they 
might  safel\-  he  left  out  of  view  hy  the  preacher  who 
was  anxious  only  to  save  souls.  Affirming  as  much  as 
this,  and  carrying  their  convictions  out  along  logical 
lines,  such  men  further  held  that  the  acceptance  of 
such  fatalistic  teachings  was  not  essential  to  proper 
loyally  to  the  I'reshyterian  scheme  of  doctrine,  or  to 
he  recpiired  as  a  test  in  IVesh}terian  ordination. —  es- 
pecially in  a  great  spiritual  emergency  such  as  had 
arisen,  in  which  persons  not  ])re])ared  or  willing  to 
meet  such  test  and  recpiisite.  might  yet  he  found  in 
practical  experiment  quite  competent  as  ministers  to 
preach  the  essential  Ciospel.  j^articularh-  in  destitute 
regions,  and  therehy  to  lead  sinners  to  genuine  faith 
in   Christ   and   his   redemi)tion. 


34  AM  ERIC  AX  FRESBYTERIANISM. 

Here  were  the  conditions  of  a  strenuous  contro- 
versy, at  once  theological  and  ecclesiastical.  The  con- 
troversy speedily  arose,  and  was  carried  on  with  spirit 
on  both  sides,  and  with  growing  divergence  between 
the  parties,  until  at  length  the  judicial  authority  resi- 
dent in  the  Form  of  Government  was  invoked,  and 
those  who  held  such  views  or  shared  in  such  usage 
either  were  formally  excluded  from  the  Church  or  vol- 
untarily withdrew  from  its  fellowship.  Whether  this 
painful  result  was  necessary  or  was  right  in  itself,  will 
always  be  questioned.  Abstractly  considered,  the  doc- 
trine of  particular  and  unconditional  election  is  so  em- 
bedded in  the  Symbols,  and  so  prominent  in  them,  that 
it  seems  impossible  to  regard  the  doctrine  as  less  than 
essential.  But  the  question  still  remains  whether  cer- 
tain modes  of  stating  that  doctrine  found  especially 
in  the  Confession  do  not  tend,  as  the  excluded  or  with- 
drawing party  believed  them  to  tend,  to  a  species  of 
fatalism  not  warranted  in  Holy  Scripture,  and  prac- 
tically injurious  to  both  faith  and  life.  Was  it  suffi- 
cient to  hold  the  doctrine  in  general  terms  such  as 
were  accepted  by  Calvinists  elsewhere  or  were  em- 
bodied in  other  Reformed  symbols,  or  must  every 
phrase  or  expression  in  the  Confession  be  formally 
assented  to  as  a  condition  of  ordination  or  of  ministe- 
rial standing  in  the  Church  ?  Might  not  persons  other- 
wise acceptable  and  giving  good  evidence  of  ability 
so  to  preach  the  Gospel  as  to  win  and  save  men,  be 
wisely  and  rightfully  ordained,  even  if  they  were  in 
doubt  as  to  individual  and  unconditional  election  or 
felt  themselves  unable  to  proclaim  the  Gospel  under  the 
forms  and  limitations  imposed  by  that  doctrine?     Such 


TRJXSPLAXT.rnO.y  AXD  DEI'ELOPMEST.      35 

in  essence  was  the  issue  raised  between  the  parties. — 
at  once  a  question  both  of  official  subscription  and 
standing  and  of  theological  opinion  and  belief. 

At  this  distance  in  time  and  in  the  lig-ht  of  recent 
events,  it  seems  altogether  probable  that  due  consid- 
eration  by   each    party   of  the   actual   position   of   the 
other,   proper   regard    for  the  practical   exigency  that 
precipitated    the    issue,    intelligent    study    of    the    Re- 
formed theology  in  general,  close  scrutiny  of  the  rec- 
ords of  preceding  controversies  of  like  character,  just 
comprehension  of  the  real  nature  of  American  as  dis- 
tinct from  European  Presbyterianism,  would  have  led 
to  a  considerate  settlement  of  the  questions  involved, 
and  saved  the  Church  from  another  disruption,   with 
all  its  piteous  consequences.      But   it   is  characteristic 
of  Presbyterians  when  they  differ,  to  differ  positively 
and    sweepingly,    to    hold    their   differences   too    tena- 
ciously and  in  too  litigious  a  temper,  and  finally  too 
often  to  split  asunder  where  they  would  better  a  thou- 
sand  fold   have  tolerated   their  diversities  of  opinion, 
and  determined  to  remain  together  within  the  common 
Church.     The  disruption  of   1741,  with  its  disastrous 
influence  on  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  Presbyteri- 
anism in  the  century  preceding,  ought  at  least  to  have 
awakened   in   both   parties,  in  this  instance,  a  livelier 
sense  of  the  mischief  and  the  wrong  of  schism,  and 
have  predisposed  both  to  allow  at  least  that  degree  of 
divergence  respecting  the  mysterious  tenet  of  election, 
with  its  correlate  in  the  dogma  of  reprobation,  which 
is  now  freely  allowed  within  the  united  Church. 

Postponing  at  this  point  the  survey  of  the  doctrinal 
element  in  the  life  of  the  developing  Church,  we  may 


36  AMERICAN  PRESBYTER] AXISM. 

now  grlance  in  lirief  at  the  corresponding  ecclesiastical 
element  which  figured  so  largely  in  its  earlier,  as  it 
has  figured  also  in  its  later  history.  Much  that  falls 
properly  within  this  division  of  the  general  subject 
has  already  been  introduced  incidentally  in  the  consid- 
eration of  the  more  vital  element  of  doctrine.  Faith 
is  always  more  than  form.  How  a  Church  is  organ- 
ized and  governed,  is  in  the  nature  of  things  a  ques- 
tion subordinate  to  and  one  largely  answered  by  the 
more  fundamental  question,  what  does  the  Church 
truly  believ'?. 

It  is  a  notable  fact  that  a  particular  form  of  church 
government  has  almost  invariably  accompanied  the 
Calvinistic  scheme  of  doctrine,  —  the  two  being  con- 
joined historically  in  many  countries  and  ages  by  some 
subtle  and  tenacious  bond  of  affiliation.  It  is  true 
that  the  Presbyterian  polity  has  in  some  instances 
maintained  its  hold  wdiere  distinctive  Calvinism  has  in 
a  measure  declined  ;  it  is  also  true  that  Calvinism  has 
held  its  place  in  some  instances  where  another  form 
of  government,  or  at  least  a  modified  form,  has  been 
preferrefl.  Yet  the  general  fact  remains  that  for 
reasons  which  undoubtedl}'  lie  in  the  nature  of  the 
two  things  rather  than  in  mere  location  or  outward 
circumstance,  Calvinism  and  Presbyterianism  have 
dwelt  together  in  special  harmony,  each  suggesting 
and  confirming,  each  commending  and  strengthening 
the  other.  This  generic  fact  is  abundantly  illustrated 
in  church  history,  and  it  goes  far  to  explain  the  other 
significant  fact  that  Presbyterianism  has  shown  larger 
capacity  for  transplantation  and  diffusion,  and  is  now 


TRAXSI'LAXTATIOX  A\D  DEVELOPMEXT.      37 

habitant  in  more  o<">unlrics  and  inulcr  a  wider  variety 
of  conditions,  than  any  other  type  of  Protestantism. 
In  view  of  these  two  facts  the  query  why  Presbyte- 
rian bodies  the  world  over  should  bear  a  name  which 
describes  their  method  of  organization  and  internal 
administration  rather  than  one  that  should  represent 
that  system  of  doctrine  which  they  agree  in  holding 
so  tenaciously  as  their  chief  heritage  and  glory,  is  one 
not  easily  answered. 

But  the  Presbyterian  polity  like  Presbyterian  doc- 
trine has  been  passing  in  this  country  through  an  ev- 
olutionary process  which  has  rendered  the  American 
type  of  it,  especially  as  we  now  have  it,  a  quite  ditYer- 
ent  thing  from  the  norm  o{  the  same  name  which  had 
its  chief  seat  in  Scotland  and  for  a  little  time  throve 
and  dominated  in  England  in  the  first  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  imported  Presbyterianism 
which  was  represented  in  the  mother  presbytery  in 
Philadelphia  and  in  the  original  Synod,  was  essentially 
a  foreign  fa])ric  ;  its  principles  and  methods,  its  prece- 
dents and  rules  and  administration  were  British.  But 
to  hold  on  invariably  and  indefinitely  to  a  mode  of 
government  so  foreign. —  to  live  and  act  generation 
after  generation  under  the  regulative  force  of  Euro- 
pean usage  and  tradition  merely,  was  from  the  nature 
of  the  case  impracticable.  And  the  records  of  the 
Adopting  Act,  of  the  disruption  of  1741,  and  of  the 
subsequent  organic  union  of  1758,  together  with  all 
that  followed  ecclesiastically  during  the  remainder  of 
the  century,  all  show  how  of  necessity  new  rules  and 
methods  were  gradually  introduced,  new  ])recedents 
established,  a   new   order  and   stvle  of  administration 


38  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIANISM 

by  degrees  brouglit  into  use,  to  meet  the  special 
exigencies  imposed  by  the  novel  conditions  of  Ameri- 
can Hfe  and  work. 

One  ilhistration  of  this  fact  has  already  come  vmder 
notice  in  the  early  controversy  respecting  the  proper 
theory  of  subscription  —  a  controversy  substantially 
in  the  first  instance  between  the  close  adherents  of 
foreign  order  and  the  advocates  of  personal  liberty, 
but  one  which  it  has  required  more  than  a  century 
in  various  forms  to  bring  even  to  its  present  stage  of 
solution,  and  which  as  an  issue  between  conservative 
and  progressive  parties  may  in  the  future  as  in  the  past 
rise  again  to  disturb,  possibly  even  to  divide  the 
Church.  Another  kindred  illustration  may  be  seen  in 
the  historic  issue  raised  between  the  original  Synod 
and  the  presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  respecting  the 
relative  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  two  bodies  as 
to  the  reception  of  candidates  and  their  licensure  and 
ordination.  That  issue  is  not  yet  entirely  settled,  for 
while  the  presbytery  has  now  come  to  be  recognized 
generally  as  the  true  unit  and  source  of  authority  in 
this  particular  and  indeed  in  all  matters  not  directly 
limited  under  our  Constitution,  there  have  been  at  times 
even  recently  strong  efforts  to  lift  the  synod,  and  es- 
pecially the  Assembly,  into  a  degree  of  supremacy 
which  the  Form  of  Government  framed  in  the  Jeru- 
salem Chamber  did  not  give  it.  In  all  varieties  this 
is  the  old  conflict  between  centralized  and  distributed 
power,  between  oligarchy  and  democracy  in  the 
Church,  between  the  freedom  of  the  individual  unit 
acting  within  its  legitimate  sphere  and  the  domination 
of  an  organism,  naturallv  too  indifferent  to  individual 


TR.lXSPL.-iXT.ITIOI^  A.\D  DEl'ELOPMllMT.      39 

rit^lits,  and  often  ready  to  assert  control  even  at  the 
sacrifice  of  personal  prerogatives  and  personal  welfare. 

The  union  of  1758  was  a  clear  triumph  for  the  time 
of  the  freer,  more  generous  interpretation  of  our  ec- 
clesiastical system.  L'nder  its  terms  the  official  was  not 
permitted  to  dominate  over  the  })rivate  member,  nor 
the  presbytery  over  the  humblest  minister  or  church, 
nor  the  synod  over  its  weakest  presbytery.  The  organic 
law  was  to  determine  the  relative  positions,  rights,  pre- 
rogatives, of  all  persons  and  all  organizations  within 
the  unified  Church.  And  the  administration  of  that  law 
was  to  be  not  technical,  narrow,  rigid,  domineering, 
as  indeed  it  is  always  possible  for  such  administration 
to  become  under  our  Form,  but  rather  tolerant, 
generous,  brotherly  throughout, —  with  supreme  de- 
sire to  allay  differences,  remove  ofifenccs,  preserve  the 
sense  of  fraternity  at  all  points,  without  assumption  or 
show  of  magisterial  power.  Xor  is  there  reason  to 
think  that,  although  some  sagacious  minds  apprehended 
such  a  result,  the  organization  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly thirty  years  later  changed  in  any  essential  feature 
either  the  mode  or  the  spirit  of  church  administration. 
At  least  at  the  outset,  before  the  stress  of  contingen- 
cies real  or  fancied  wrought  otherwise,  few  if  any 
traces  appear  of  a  tendency  in  that  supreme  judicatory 
to  excessive  centralization  or  to  the  assuming  of  any 
control  not  warranted  by  just  and  generous  interpreta- 
tion of  the  organic  law. 

The  Cumberland  Schism  like  the  disruption  of 
1741.  illustrated  painfully  the  peril  of  departing  on 
an\  side  from  this  conception  of  church  government. 
To  revert  for  a  moment  to  that  sad  event,  there  can 


40  A M ERICA N  PRESB  Y' TERIA A' ISM. 

be  little  doubt  that,  strictly  construed,  both  the  Con- 
fession and  the  Constitution  forbad  those  divergencies 
in  faith  and  teaching  and  those  departures  from  proper 
ecclesiastical  regulation  out  of  which  that  schism  grew, 
and  technically  called  for  the  exercise  of  discipline  on 
that  account.  But  is  there  not  as  little  room  for  doubt 
that  if  that  issue  had  been  met  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Union  of  1758, —  if  all  the  occasions  for  divergence 
or  variation  had  been  duly  considered  and  so  far  as 
possible  provided  for, —  if  all  parties  had  been  will- 
ing to  adjust  their  issues  on  the  true  American  basis 
of  large  toleration  and  on  the  true  Christian  basis  of 
brotherhood,  the  ecclesiastical  rupture  might  have 
been  avoided,  and  Cumberland  Presbyterianism  might 
have  remained  a  prolific  and  valuable  branch  of  the 
one  continental  vine,  the  one  imdivided  Church  ? 

Still  it  is  obvious  in  general  that,  notwithstanding 
occasional  variations,  the  earlier  history  of  organized 
Presbvterianism  in  America  reveals  a  decisive  and 
healthful  development  in  the  ecclesiastical  as  in  the 
doctrinal  sphere.  The  extent  of  that  evolution  is 
greater  than  many  are  accustomed  to  suppose.  It  is 
inconceivable,  for  example,  that  an  American  Assem- 
bly, even  in  the  eighteenth  century,  should  call  on  the 
civil  power,  were  there  any  such  power  adequate  to 
the  task,  as  the  Assembly  of  Westminster  more  than 
once  did,  to  order  the  seizure  and  burning  of  a  doc- 
trinal treatise  believed  by  it  to  be  heretical.  It  is 
equally  inconceivable  that  an  Assembly  at  least  in  our 
time  should  require,  as  the  Synod  of  1741  required, 
that  the  church  standards  should  be  subscribed  by 
everv  official  jicrson  without  the  least  variation,  to  the 


TR.L\'sri..ixr.n'!()x  .ixn  nnriiLoPMnxr.    41 

exclusion  of  the  fundamental  right  of  private  inter- 
pretation. Hardly  more  conceivahle  is  it  that,  in  this 
age,  those  sacred  guarantees  with  which  the  Consti- 
tution surrounds  every  minister  and  every  meniher  of 
the  Church  should,  even  to  correct  lawlessness  or  re- 
press heresy,  be  so  much  ignored  or  set  aside,  as  they 
were  even  a  century  ago.  More  and  more  a  wider, 
freer,  nobler  interpretation  alike  of  our  organic  law 
and  of  our  confessional  teaching  has  come  in.  not 
merely  to  modify  Old  World  usage  or  tradition,  but 
also  to  confer  new  jMiwer  and  new  dignity  on  tht.' 
Presbyterian  name. 

The  growth  of  the  Church  during  its  first  century 
clearly  shows  the  inestimable  value  of  the  twofold 
evolution  here  described,  and  establishes  the  right  of 
the  denomination  to  a  large  place  and  to  strong  and 
practical  inHuence  on  American  soil.  Within  a  hun- 
dred years  from  the  organization  of  the  first  presbv- 
tery,  with  its  seven  ministers  and  five  churches,  located 
in  a  comparatively  narrow  space  on  the  Atlantic  coast, 
the  Church  had  extended  its  area  throughout  almost 
the  entire  country,  excepting  Xew  England,  and  its 
ministers  had  increased  thirty  fold  and  its  congrega- 
tions more  than  seventy  fold.  Its  strong,  clear,  con- 
sistent and  commanding  creed,  fairly  interpreted,  had 
found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  men,  and  as  in  an  eminent 
sense  the  Church  of  the  Doctrines  the  denomination 
had  acrpiired  for  itself  a  teaching  function  within  the 
religious  sphere  which  no  other  Church  seemed  quite 
so  competent  to  fill.  Meanwhile,  its  representative 
type  of  government  resembling  so  closely  that  of  the 
nation,  and   its   fine  adjustment   in   administration  be- 


42  AMERICAN  PRESBVTERIAXISM. 

tween  an  excessive  individualism  on  one  hand  and 
hierarchal  assumption  to  the  other,  had  also  done 
much  to  inspire  general  respect  and  win  public  confi- 
dence and  support.  On  the  whole,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  a  hundred  years  ago  no  other  type  of  Protestant- 
ism exhibited  evangelical  belief  and  church  life  in 
more  attractive  ways,  or  contained  in  itself  larger  ele- 
ments of  popularity  and  influence.  And  when  the 
nineteenth  century  opened  there  was  much,  notwith- 
standing existing  impediments  and  the  distracting 
issues  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical,  to  justify  the  hope 
that  the  place  and  influence  thus  reached  would 
broaden  with  time  until  Presbyterianism  should  become 
one  of  the  most  extensive  and  commanding  forms,  if 
not  indeed  as  some  of  its  adherents  fondly  expected, 
the  dominant  form  of  Protestantism  in  America  —  in 
the  best  sense  a  free  Church  in  a  free  State. 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 

The  Disruption  oi    1837. 

It  is  indeed  a  pleasant  picture  wliicli  the  Church 
in  the  first  three  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century 
jiresents.  Out  of  various  colHsions  and  conflicts 
earlier  and  later  the  principle  of  toleration  had  come 
to  be  widely  reco.g^niztd.  and  even  to  be  enthroned  as 
a  sovereign  law  in  the  denominational  conviction  and 
activities  —  as  indeed  it  is  recognized  and  enforced  in 
the  confessional  Cliapter  on  the  Communion  of  Saints. 
The  consciousness  of  substantial  unity  around  the  main 
tenets  and  interests  of  the  Church  had  risen  into 
commanding  prominence  ;  circumstantial  diversities  had 
for  the  most  part  disappeared.  This  was  in  some  de- 
gree a  natural  result,  flowing  from  past  experiences 
both  agreeable  and  painful,  and  developing  more  freely 
as  the  organization  became  less  foreign  and  variant, 
more  and  more  distinctively  American  in  temper  and 
habit,  and  as  the  great  denominational  work  spread 
out  before  it  more  fully  and  attractively.  Doubtless 
it  was  also  a  supernatural  result,  induced  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Divine  Spirit,  anrl  nurtured  into  strength 
bv  that  gracious  culture  which  everywhere  reveals 
one  of  its  most  beautiful  manifestations  in  the  expe- 
rience and  fellowship  of  the  organized  Church.  And 
surely  no  one  in  contemplating  the  condition  and 
prospects  of  the  denomination  at  this  juncture  would 
have  dreamed  it  possible  that  within  a  brief  period 
explosive  differences  would  arise,  partizan  antago- 
nisms would  lie  developed,  the  sense  of  oneness  and 


44  THE  DISRUPTIOX  OP  1837. 

brotherhood  would  vanish,  and  bitter  struggles  be  be- 
gun,—  all  ending  in  a  rupture  which  a  decade  or  two 
earlier  all  parties  would  have  pronounced  impossible. 

But  the  conditions  of  further  conflict  still  remained. 
The  old  questions  respecting  faith  and  order  were  not. 
could  not.  be  settled  once  for  all ;  the  composition  of 
the  organism  was  more  or  less  explosive  in  its  nature ; 
new  issues  of  policy  and  instrumentality  were  of  ne- 
cessitv  from  time  to  time  arising.  Spontaneous  con- 
flagrations, exploding  gases,  infectious  diseases, 
were  always  possible  agents  of  michief  and  of  ruin. 
And  back  of  all  lay  the  latent  poison,  the  corrupting 
potency  of  original  sin  —  of  original  sin  in  a  hun- 
dred forms  of  mutual  blindness  and  narrowness,  of 
^  obliquity  in  motive,  of  selfishness  and  ambition  and  the 
spirit  of  evil.  A  brief  survey  of  some  of  the  more 
conspicuous  among  these  deteriorating  or  destruc- 
tive forces  is  essential  to  a  just  comprehension  of  the 
result  that  finally  came  to  pass.  At  this  distance  of 
time,  when  partizan  feelings  and  purposes  have  hap- 
pily died  away,  and  when  another  and  more  substan- 
tial unification  has  taken  place,  such  a  survey  mav 
properly  be  undertaken. —  provided  it  l)e  conducted 
in  the  historic  tem])er.  and  with  no  disposition  to  at- 
•tempt  the  distri])ution  of  praise  or  blame  among  the 
parties  involved. 

It  would  ht  a  judgment  both  shallow  and  unjust 
to  condenm  all  differences  or  diversities  among  evan- 
'  gelical  people  as  departures  from  tlie  essential  prin- 
ciples of  the  common  Christianity,  or  as  a  refiection 
tipon  the  religious  character  or  profession  of  those 
who  are  concerned  in  them.     ¥o\-  while  there  is  much 


OCC.ISIOXS  OF  COXriJCT.  45 

ill  tliat  Christianity  respecting  whieli  its  adherents 
are  not  at  Hherty  to  differ  —  much  wliich  it  heconies 
sinful  schism  in  tliem  to  wrangle  ahout,  there  is  also 

just  room  within  the  religious  s])here  as  elsewhere 
for  the  free  action  of  specific  and  ])articularizing  ten- 
dencies, for  the  play  of  many  diversifying  sentiments 
and  convictions,  even  for  large  ditTerences  as  to  creed 
and  organization  and  church  life, —  all  permissihle 
within  reasonahle  limits  so  long  as  the\'  do  not  mili- 
tate against  the  sui)reme  good  which  all  i)arties  are 
]  pledged  alike  to  revere  and  suhserve.  Ancestral  ten- 
I  dencies  flow  all  unconsciously  in  our  hlood  ;  the  tra- 
l  ditions  and  ini]iressions  of  childliood  affect  in  many 
ways  our  maturer  convictions:  personal  temperament 
phlegmatic  or  sanguine,  and  ])ersonal  education  or 
culture,  influence  largelv  our  theologizing  and  our  ec- 
clesiastical preferences :  the  associations  into  which 
we  are  providentially  hrought,  our  sjiecific  environ- 
ments, aid  in  developing  our  religions  views,  feelings, 
hahits  —  our  friendshi])s  and  also  our  anti])athies.  even 
within  the  one  household  of  faith,  .^uch  influences 
are  emhedded  in  the  verv  muscles  of  our  spiritual,  as 
hoth  healthful  and  pernicious  germs  are  emhedded  in 
our  physical  organism.  Xeither  the  private  disciple 
nor  the  assemhled  Church  can  escape  them,  nor  can 
their  ])resence  in  either  he  regarded  as  always  a 
serious  reflection  on  the  unifving  nature  or  the  prac- 
tical  workings  of  the  common   C"hristianit\-. 

In  the  instance  under  consideration,  although  the 
denomination  was  hecoming  year  hv  \ear  more  honio- 
geneous  in  composition,  there  were  still  certain  na- 
tional and  racial  tendencies  —  the  I'.nglish  persistence. 


46  THE  DISRUPTION  OF  1837. 

the  Welsh  enthusiasm,  the  Dutch  phlegm,  the  Hugue- 
not temper,  ennnently  the  Scotch  positiveness  and 
readiness  to  do  hattle  to  the  death  for  cherished  belief 
on  one  side,  and  the  equally  strenuous  Puritanism  of 
New  England,  no  less  conscientious  in  belief  or  less 
ready  to  insist  to  the  last  extremity  on  the  other  — ■ 
tendencies  which  were  still  operative  as  differentiating 
forces  within  the  one  Church.  To  these  should  be  added 
all  those  segregating  influences  already  adverted  to, 
personal  and  social,  which  tended  in  many  ways  not 
only  to  impair  the  sentiment  of  unity  and  the  zeal 
of  service,  but  also  to  magnify  existing  differences 
and  imperceptibly  to  prepare  the  way  even  for  division. 
And  beyond  these  we  should  note  the  impersonal  occa- 
sions for  diversity  frequently  arising  from  the  com- 
plex conditions  amid  which  the  work  of  the  Church 
was  being  carried  forward, —  the  varied  problems  of 
sphere,  method,  instrumentality,  resource ;  giving  rise 
often,  first  to  zealous  debate,  then  to  wide  variety 
in  their  solution,  and  finally  to  antagonism  and  alien- 
ation, all  tending  toward  open  rupture  in  the  end. 
To  the  careful  student  of  the  history  of  the  period  the 
presence  of  such  disintegrating  causes  is  painfully 
apparent,  and  sadly  ominous  of  the  division  that  was 
to  follow. 

But  turning  from  this  general  survey  to  a  more 
specific  view  of  the  denominational  situation,  we  may 
note  six  particular  causes  which  all  will  agree  in  re- 
garding, though  there  may  be  varying  degrees  of 
emphasis  laid  upon  one  or  another,  as  producing  in 
their  combination  the  historic  Disruption.  These  were, 
first,    diversity    of   opinion    as   to   either   the   essential 


SIX  PARTICULAR  CAUSES.  47 

content  of  certain  doctrines,  or  to  the  proper  mode  of 
stating  or  explaining  these  doctrines ;  second,  differ- 
ence of  judgment  as  to  the  measure  of  liberty  allowa- 
hle  in  subscription  to  the  accepted  standards  of  belief, 
or  of  toleration  to  be  granted  to  those  who  might  vary 
more  or  less  from  these  standards ;  third,  diversity  as 
to  the  requisite  degree  of  conformity  to  the  church 
polity  in  certain  details,  or  of  adherence  to  the  Pres- 
byterian system  as  against  all  other  forms  of  church 
government ;  fourth,  the  question  respecting  the  rela- 
tive claim  and  value  of  ecclesiastical  agencies  as  com- 
pared with  voluntary  associations,  in  carrying  forward 
missions  both  foreign  and  domestic  and  other  kindred 
forms  of  Christian  work  ;  fifth,  difference  respecting  the 
theological  soundness,  the  prevalent  methods  and  the 
spiritual  results  of  the  revival  movements  extensively 
current  in  certain  sections  of  the  Church  ;  and  sixth, 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  institution  of  domestic 
slavery,  and  to  the  duty  of  the  Church  toward  those 
among  its  members  who  were  not  conforming  in  prac- 
tice to  its  various  testimonies  against  that  institution. 
Some  consideration  of  each  of  these  particular  causes 
is  indispensable  to  a  proper  apprehension  of  the  his- 
toric result. 

Among  the  various  types  of  Christian  theology-, 
none  is  so  remarkable  as  Calvinism,  in  the  generic 
sense  of  the  term,  for  the  effort  on  one  side  to  include 
in  one  comprehensive  scheme  all  the  main  elements 
of  our  Holy  Faith,  and  on  the  other  to  adjust  these 
elements  in  their  proper  relationship,  and  so  to  bal- 
ance all  opposites  as  to  secure  through  their  interblend- 


48  THE  DISRUPriOX  OF  1837. 

iiig  tlie  finest  atlainal)!^-  measure  of  both  completeness 
and  harmony  in  the  enunciation  of  divine  truth.  All 
types  of  theolo"}-.  worthy  of  the  name,  are  indeed 
confronted  by  the  same  complex  problem,  and  must 
concern  themselves  with  the  same  effort  at  solution. 
God  and  man.  sovereignty  and  freedom,  depravity 
and  responsibility,  justice  and  grace,  election  and  sal- 
vation, regeneration  and  conversion,  faith  and  works, 
—  these  and  other  kindred  antitheses  confront  the 
thoughtful  mind  under  whate^'er  sky  or  name  it  may 
seek  to  formulate  or  express  the  truth  of  God  in  creed 
and  svstem.  And  the  endeavor  to  attain  such  formu- 
lation, to  set  forth  the  great  verities  of  Christianity 
in  one  conjoined,  harmonious,  comprehensive  struct- 
ure—  a  scientific  scheme  of  doctrine  —  has  been  go- 
ing on  a'.iuost  from  apostolic  times,  and  is  likely  to 
continue  so  long  as  the  Truth  of  ("iod.  revealed  in 
nature  and  in  His  Word,  presses  its  sacred,  solemn 
claim  on  the  ])elieving  soul. 

But  among  all  who  undertake  this  task,  the  dis- 
ciple of  Augustine,  of  Calvin,  of  Edwards  will  always 
be  foremost.  The  manner  in  which  he  approaches 
the  work,  the  philosophic  principles  which  regulate 
his  inquiries,  his  high  sense  of  the  supremacy  of  what 
is  divine  above  what  is  human  in  the  material,  his 
strong  faith  in  the  intrinsic  harmony  of  the  various 
elements,  even  of  those  which  seem  most  opposite  if 
not  antagonistic  and  mutually  exclusive,  his  scientific 
aspiration  after  unity  and  his  untiring  temper  and 
zeal, —  all  these  constrain  him  to  theologize,  and  to 
theologize  with  the  utmost  possible  measure  of  pa- 
tience and  thoroughness,  and  with   an   unconquerable 


nOCTh'IX.H.  DnilRSITY.  49 

contidenco  tliat,  when  rii^htlv  apprehended  and  ad- 
justed, the  doctrines  of  the  Word  will  liecome  as  truly 
harmonious,  as  truh-  one,  as  the  songs  of  the  angels 
are.  Hence  come  his  diligent  attempts  at  compre- 
hension, his  careful  adjustment  of  elements  apparently 
in  conflict,  his  studied  statements  and  halanced  pro- 
positions, and  finally  his  strong  and  hroad  and  cosmic 
system,  standing  forth  among  the  other  theologies  as 
Mount  lUanc  among  the  mountains  of  Switzerland. 
Hence  also  come  his  resolute  adherence  to  the  con- 
victions wrought  into  his  mental  and  moral  structure 
hy  such  a  process,  his  ])ride  sometimes  extreme  in  his 
formulated  creed,  his  readiness  to  hattle  against  all 
comers  in  defense  of  the  truth  as  he  has  thus  formu- 
lated it,  and  his  strong  affection  and  sympathy  tt^ward 
all  those  who  dwell  harmoniously  with  him  within 
what  has  been  well  teriued  the  Church  of  the  Doc- 
trines. 

But  how  obvious  it  is  that  a  scheme  of  theologv 
thus  framed,  with  its  strenuous  eff'orts  toward  com- 
prehensiveness, with  its  balancings  and  adjustments, 
with  its  measured  statements  and  its  strict  demands 
upiin  1)1  )th  intellectual  credence  and  religious  acce])t- 
ance,  nmst  from  the  nature  of  the  case  furnish  many 
occasions  for  difference  in  the  use  of  material,  for 
variations  in  method  and  form  and  emphasis,  for  di- 
versities in  the  actual  jjroduct,  and  even  for  tenacious 
and  sometimes  bitter  conflict  among  those  who  still 
hold  conscientiously  to  the  generic  Calvinism.  How 
easy  it  is  to  exalt  one  element  or  one  section  of  doc- 
trine unduly  while  relatively  retiring  another  section 
or   element    from    view,   to   attempt    jointure    where    it 


50  THE  DISRUPTION  OF  1837- 

seems  to  human  view  impossible,  to  lose  the  just  bal- 
ance in  proposition  and  statement,  to  construct  the 
system  disproportionately  and  unsystematically,  and 
too  often  to  become  partial,  narrow,  dogmatic  in  the 
enunciation  of  the  fabricated  Truth.  Hence  no  class 
of  Christian  thinkers  seem  quite  so  liable  as  Calvinists 
to  differ  around  unessential  elements  in  doctrine,  or 
to  debate  concerning  minor  issues  of  phrase  or  inter- 
pretation, even  until  debate  ends  in  distrust  or  alien-" 
ation  or  possibly  in  open  rupture.  No  system  of  the- 
ology seems  quite  so  liable  to  lose  its  broad  generic 
quality,  or  to  split  into  a  series  of  small  systems,  hav- 
ing indeed  a  common  historic  likeness,  yet  diverse 
and  partial  in  each  instance,  and  often  more  hostile- 
toward  each  'other  than  any  of  them  are  toward  widely 
differing  types  of  theological  construction.  And  hence 
have  come  largely  those  numerous  issues  and  conflicts 
among  Calvinistic  divines  which  ever  since  the  age 
of  the  great  Swiss  teacher  have  had  so  prominent  a 
place  in  the  records  of  Protestantism,  and  have  done 
so  much  —  more  than  any  and  all  opposition  from  the 
outside  —  to  prevent  Calvinism  from  attaining  its 
legitimate  position  among  the  theologies  of  Christen- 
dom. 

It  is  needless  to  enter  here  upon  any  acccnmt  of 
the  specific  issues  respecting  doctrine  out  of  which 
the  Disruption  arose.  One  who  reads  with  care  the 
list  of  sixteen  doctrinal  Errors  which  were  charged 
upon  one  party  by  the  other  as  indicative  of  a  radical 
departure  from  the  Calvinism  of  the  Symbols,  and  the 
sixteen  Answers  presented  by  the  party  so  arraigned, 
will  have  no  difficulty  in  seeing  just  where  the  theo- 


Sf'hX'Il-IC  JSSLILS.  51 

logical  cleavag;c  started  and  just  how  far  it  extended. 
Summarily  stated,  the  matters  in  issue  may  be  reduced 
to  four  in  number.  The  first  of  these  related  to  orig- 
/  inal  sin.  the  extent  and  form  of  its  imputation  to  the 
race,  the  fact  and  nature  of  human  depravation  in 
consequence,  and  the  measm-e  of  al)ility  and  responsi- 
bility and  guilt  remaining-  in  the  sinner.  The  second 
related   to   the   eternal   purpose  of   God   in   respect   to 

/I  human  deliverance  and  salvation,  the  nature  and  scope 
of  the  divine  election,  and  the  extent  and  application 
of  the  atonement  as  a  gracious  provision  for  the  ])roper 
satisfying-  of  divine  law  and  justice  in  conjunction 
with    the    full    redeniption    of    all    who   believe.      The 

__3  third  involved  the  great  problem  of  justification,  with 
its  essential  elements  of  pardon  and  acceptance  and 
adoption,  the  imputation  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
and  the  wav  and  form  in  which  faith  receives  and  ap- 
propriates the  justification  thus  provided.  And  the 
y  fourth,  springing  logically  from  the  three  preceding, 
r  involved  the  sovereignty  of  the  Spirit  in  the  applica- 
tion of  these  divine  provisions,  his  supremac\'  in  re- 
generation, the  quality  of  that  experience,  the  respon- 
sibility of  the  simier  in  the  matter  of  his  own  salva- 
tion, and  the  nature  of  the  new  life  implanted  in  the 
believing  soul. 

It  is  iiot  difticult  in  this  later  and  brighter  day  to 
see  tliat.  important  as  tlie\-  were,  these  were  issues 
respecting  which  in  their  various  aspects  earnest  men 
might  dift'er.  and  differ  seriously,  who  still  were  essen- 
tially at  one  in  their  adherence  to  the  generic  Cal- 
vinism. Xor  is  it  difticult  to  see  how  the  center  of 
conflict  might  shift  widely  among  these  issues,  or  how 


^ 


52  THE  DISRUPriOX  OF  1S37. 

the  differences  evolving-  here  or  there  might  vary 
greatly,  according'  to  the  temperament  and  training 
of  the  disputants,  and  the  heat  of  the  actual  contro- 
versy. Nor  is  it  difficult  to  conclude  from  our  pres- 
ent point  of  ohservation  that,  however  serious  these 
differences  in  doctrine  might  be.  or  might  seem  to  be. 
they  were  hardly  sufficient  in  themselves  to  justifv 
relentless  antagonism  or  open  rupture  within  the 
Church  .  For  men  may  dispute  tenaciously,  empha- 
size their  conflicting  opinions  stronglv,  antagonize 
one  another  openly  in  minor  matters  of  faith,  and  even 
cast  suspicion  on  their  opponents  and  strive  for  su- 
premacy over  them  in  place  and  influence  on  such 
accounts,  without  proceeding  to  the  extreme  of  schis- 
matic revolt  or  outright  division.  In  all  great  and 
wide  denominations  it  is  not  onlv  possible  Init  neces- 
sary for  opposite  persons  and  parties  to  dwell  to- 
gether and  to  work  together  for  the  common  good, 
though  consciously  varying  and  even  conflicting 
around  subordinate  questions  in  belief.  The  experi- 
ence of  Presbyterianism  since  the  Union  of  1869.  as 
well  as  that  of  various  other  Protestant  communions, 
and  even  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  so  strongly  unified 
and  consolidated  amid  its  recognized  diversities  in 
theological  opinion,  proves  beyond  question  both  the 
possibility  and   the   vital   necessity  of  such   toleration. 

The  second  cause  of  separation  sprang  from  the 
extent  and  complexitv  of  the  church  creed,  and  cen- 
tered itself,  as  in  the  ])receding  century,  around  the 
question  of  suliscri]:)tion,  the  degree  of  closeness  re- 
quisite in  adherence  to  the  specific  terms  and  propo- 


(jriisriox  ()!■'  sii^scRirriox.  -jS 

sitir)iis  of  tlic  S\nil)ols.  It  was  in  substance  that  great 
issue  of  toleration  which  had  aj^^iiated  the  Westminster 
Asseni])ly  and  inspired  the  pen  of  Mikon,  and  which 
in  one  form  and  another  had  l)een  one  of  tlie  most 
perplexins;-  problems  in  the  i)athway  of  Presbyterian- 
ism.both  luiropean  and  American,  for  nearly  two  cen- 
turies. In  this  instance  it  was  natural  that  those  who 
were  conscious  of  ditifering-  more  or  less  extensively 
from  the  very  letter  of  the  Confession  should  draw 
fresh  lines  between  what  is  and  what  is  not  essential 
in  doctrine,  should  interpret  phrases  and  propositions 
with  unusual  freedom,  and  should  claim  for  them- 
selves a  large  measure  of  liberty  in  opinion  and  in 
teaching.  And  it  might  be  expected  that  in  some 
cases  the  privilege  of  private  interpretation  would  be 
abused,  and  lil)ert\-  would  degenerate  into  harmful 
license,  until  here  and  there  men  might  arise  who, 
perhaps  1)\-  processes  of  which  they  were  themselves 
but  dimly  conscious,  were  actually  transgressing 
proper  confessional  boundaries  and  becoming  some- 
thing other  than   Presbyterian  Calvinists. 

The  result  would  naturally  follow  that  the  advo- 
cates of  strictness  in  subscription  and  interpretaticni 
would  become  more  strict,  that  the  lines  of  liberty 
would  be  narrowed,  and  more  stringent  demands  on 
allegiance  be  made,  in  the  presence  of  divergencies 
such  as  these.  The  legitiiuate  boundary  between  the 
necessarv  articles  in  the  Confession  and  the  articles 
not  necessary  would  be  limited  or  erased,  the  freer 
interpretation  would  be  regarded  as  disloyalty,  the 
claim  of  Christian  tolerance  would  be  ignored,  and 
those  who  could  n(^t  subscribe  to  the  verv  letter  would 


54  THE  DISRUPTION  OF  1837. 

be  denounced  as  unfaithful  to  the  Symbols  and  to  the 
Church.  The  storx-  of  the  Disruption  will  tell  us  what 
came  to  pass.  It  is  enough  to  say  here  that  what 
could  not  have  been  brought  about  by  the  doctrinal 
diversities  alone,  occurred  readily  through  this  con- 
fessional issue,  working  on  and  on  until  it  became  a 
question  whether  two  parties  so  widely  separated  in 
their  estimate  and  interpretation  of  the  church  creed 
could  dwell  peacefully  within  the  one  denominational 
fold. 

Just  here  arose  the  third  cause  of  division,  involv- 
"^  '1  ing  the  rightful  utilizing  of  the  church  politv  as  a 
corrective  in  the  res])onse  to  this  very  practical  and 
j)er])lexing  question.  I'o  that  polity  the  party  of 
strictness  would  naturally  turn  as  a  suitable  instru- 
ment in  suj^pressing  what  it  regarded  as  doctrinal 
looseness,  and  in  restoring  theological  harmony  and 
ecclesiastical  peace,  while  the  party  of  liberty  on  the 
other  hand  might  seek  to  find  in  its  provisions  some 
safeguard  against  what  thev  regarded  as  an  unwar- 
rantable imputation  and  an  imjust  challenge  of  their 
title  to  standing  in  the  Church.  Too  much  cannot  be 
said  in  general  respecting  that  polity  as  to  its  inherent 
strength,  its  careful  adjustments  and  balances,  its  re- 
markable adaptation  as  a  judicial  guardian  alike  of 
denominational  unity  and  of  personal  rights.  No 
Church  in  Christendom  has  a  more  carefully  devised 
or  more  potential  or  efifective  method  of  government. 
In  nudtitudes  of  instances  from  the  Westminster 
period  down  to  our  age  this  polity  has  proved  its  effi- 
ciency and  value,  and  no  small  share  of  the  prestige 
of   I'resbx  terianism  treneralK-  ma\-   justlv  be  attributed 


coxri./cr  R/isriicrixa  roi.rry.  55 

to  its  int^uence  and  wurkiiii^.  (  )ttcn  as  it  has  Ik^cii 
criticised  and  sonictinies  denounced,  especially  l)v  those 
who  have  experienced  its  corrective  or  punitive  force, 
the  Lhurch  has  just  occasion  to  he  proud  of  it.  and 
to  preserve  and  commend  it.  Like  the  Calvinism  with 
which  it  has  heen  almost  always  closely  affiliated,  it 
has  stood  thus  far  and  now  seems  likely  to  stand  all 
the  tests  which  time  and  the  developing"  experience 
of  the  various  churches  hearing^  the  Preslivterian  name 
may  require. 

liut  like  every  other  denominational  mode  of  gov- 
erniueiit.  history  has  more  than  once  or  twice  shown 
that  this  mode  luay  Itecome  an  ag'encv  of  harm  rather 
than  of  hlessing.  Its  cai)al)ilities  of  good  however 
luarked  may.  if  unwiseK  or  unrighteously  used,  be- 
come ca])abilities  of  evil.  Injurious  mistakes,  grave 
errors,  have  sometimes  occurred  in  the  application  of 
its  princi])les.  The  inconsiderate  zeal  of  men  or  par- 
ties has  sometimes  j^erverted  its  salutarv  rules.  Even 
the  ])assion.  the  selfishness,  the  ambition  of  luen  have 
sctmetimes  through  its  instrumentality  wrought  griev- 
ous wrong  to  individuals  or  to  parties  in  the  Church. 
In  the  last  resort,  everything  seems  to  depend  on  the 
temper  with  which  its  requisitions  are  interpreted  and 
applied  —  the  s])irit  that  moves  and  acts  within  its 
polished  machinery.  In  the  instance  here  considered. 
as  we  shall  see.  bothi  the  intrinsic  efficiencies  and  the 
attendant  perils  a])parcnt  in  this  polity  made  their  ap- 
pearance in  \arious  ways. —  good  men.  brethren  at 
heart,  but  disagreeing  respecting  some  articles  in  the 
conuuon  b'aith.  dififering  widely,  disastrously,  as  to 
what  luight  be  and  wh.'it  ouijht  not  to  be  Sfjusjlit  or  ac- 


1 


56  THE  DISRUPTION  OF  1837- 

complished  through  this  dynamic  instrumentaHty. 
Nor  will  it  be  strange  or  unprecedented  if  such  differ- 
ence, long  continued  and  aggravated  with  time,  should 
be  found  to  end  at  last  in  a  formal  rupture,  justified 
by  one  party  on  constitutional  grounds,  and  resisted 
by  the  other  as  unwarranted  either  by  church  law  or 
by  that  justice  which  is  higher  than  law. 

The  fourth  cause  of  the  Disruption  comes  into 
view  in  this  immediate  connection, —  in  the  general 
question  whether  the  church  polity,  viewed  now  not 
as  an  instrument  in  judicial  procedure,  but  as  an 
agency  in  carrying  forward  the  work  and  especially 
the  missionary  work  of  the  Church,  was  to  be  pre- 
ferred and  utilized  to  the  exclusion  of  all  voluntary, 
undenominational  organizations  such  as  were  at  the 
time  conspicuously  active  in  that  great  field  of  Chris- 
tian effort  which  is  the  World.  That  this  general 
question  should  arise  at  this  juncture,  involving  a  series 
of  particular  issues  respecting  missions  at  home  and 
abroad,  respecting  the  education  of  ministers,  respect- 
ing the  publication  of  religious  literature,  and  the  sup- 
port of  other  kindred  undenominational  agencies,  was 
perhaps  inevitable.  During  the  earlier  and  simpler 
life  of  the  Church  in  the  eighteenth  and  the  first  de- 
cades of  the  nineteenth  century,  such  issues  were  rel- 
atively few  in  number  and  of  small  importance.  I>ut 
as  these  voluntary  agencies  grew  in  magnitude  and 
activity,  and  as  their  points  of  contact  with  the  church 
life  became  more  frequent  and  more  close,  the  prob- 
lem of  denominational  connection  with  them  became 
more  and  m(jre  urgent,  and  the  query  whether  the 
Church  could  not  better  do  its  share  of  the  great  work 


DISCUSSIOX  OF  RF.rir.lLS.  57 

in  its  own  \\a\  and  throu.^li  tlu-  iustrunirntalities  ex- 
istent in  its  polity,  soon  arose  in  various  forms  askinj^ 
for  an  early  S(jlution. 

'llie  issue  thus  raised  was  at  first  prudential  rather 
than  fundamental  :  it  involved  (|uestions  of  efficiency 
in  service,  of  brotherly  miion  with  other  Christian  peo- 
ples, of  j)ractical  methods  and  dem(»nstrated  results, 
quite  as  much  as  the  application  or  enforcement  of 
abstract  princijile.  lUit  b}  degrees  the  same  parties 
that  were  in  conflict  around  the  three  direct  issues 
already  descril)ed,  came  into  collision  at  this  strategic 
point  also.  Loyalty  to  the  Church  and  its  machinery 
and  methods,  as. against  loyalty  to  these  voluntary  agen- 
cies acting  outside  of  the  Church  and  not  directly  re- 
sponsible to  it.  grew  to  be  the  watchword  of  the  more 
conservative  and  churchly  party.  That  intense,  even 
bitter  controversy  should  arise  in  time  between  this 
party  and  those  who  entertained  an  opposite  opinion, 
and  found  superior  delight  in  conscious  brotherhood 
with  believers  of  another  name,  naturally  followed, 
and  filled  a  real,  not  an  initial  or  main  —  as  some  sup- 
pose —  but  rather  a  subordinate,  place  among  the 
causes  which  brought  on  the  final  rupture. 

Two  other  contributing  causes  are  to  be  considered 
here.  Of  ib.ese  the  first  related  to  the  nature,  the  doc- 
trinal teaching,  the  special  methods,  and  the  real  value 
J  of  the  revival  movements  which  for  almost  a  genera- 
tion before  the  final  division  had  been  prevalent  in  cer- 
tain sections  of  the  Church.  To  these  movements  it 
was  earnestly  objected  that  they  were  a  departure  from 
the   normal   and   healthful    ])rocess   of   church   growth 


58  THE  DISRUPTIOX  OF  1837. 

suggested  in  Scripture  and  illustrated  in  the  best  ex- 
perience of  Protestantism,  —  that  they  were  largely 
the  prodtict  of  physical  excitement  and  of  social  agi- 
tation.—  that  many  of  their  methods  were  at  best 
questionable,  and  some  of  their  manifestations  posi- 
tively offensive  and  discreditable  to  the  very  name  of 
religion.  It  was  alleged  that  many  of  the  ministers 
condticting  such  revivals  were  silent  respecting  such 
weighty  truths  as  the  elective  grace  of  God,  the  spirit- 
ual deadness  of  the  sinner,  the  sovereignty  of  the  Di- 
vine Spirit  in  salvation.  It  was  further  alleged  that 
some  of  the  luinistry  had  not  only  surrendered  such 
essentials  of  Calvinism  but  had  substituted  positive 
Arminian  heresy  and  were  teaching  dangerous  error 
from  the  pulpit.  It  was  also  said  that  many  of  the 
supposed  conversions  were  spiu'ious,  that  the  churches 
were  being  filled  up  with  a  membership  in  fact  uncon- 
verted, and  that  the  whole  denomination  was  conse- 
quently in  danger  of  l)ecoming  not  only  heretical  in 
belief  but  also  corrupt  in  heart  and  life. 

The  friends  of  these  movements  were  nc^  less  earn- 
est in  enforcing  the  opposite  view.  They  claimed  that 
such  special  visitations  of  grace  were  promised  in 
Scri])ture  and  illustrated  in  the  Pentecost,  and  verified 
at  many  points  in  the  history  of  spiritual  Christianity. 
While  they  admitted  that  in  some  instances  improper 
methods  had  been  adopted,  and  animal  excitements 
had  been  aroused,  and  grotesque  consequences  had 
been  manifest,  yet  these  in  their  judgment  were  only 
occasional,  and  could  not  be  justh-  adduced  against 
the  movement  as  a  whole.  They  claimed  also  that, 
although  there  had  in  some  instances  been  departures 


L 


MATTER  OF  SL.UllRV.  59 

iiKirc  or  less  distinct  from  sound  doctrine,  yet  in  the 
main  tlie  proacliing  liad  l)een  in  sul)stantiai  harmony 
with  the  Symhols  and  thorou,s;^lilv  F>ihlical  in  l)Oth  con- 
tent and  spirit.  They  affirmed  that  the  conversions  in 
such  revivals  were  genuine  in  general,  and  that  the 
religious  character  developed  was  often  of  the  highest 
and  nohlest  type,  and  consecpiently  that  the  churches 
in  the  regions  visited  by  such  revival  influences  had 
been  wonderfidh'  increased  in  numbers  and  activity, 
and  in  their  power  to  ])roclaini  and  comiuend  the 
Gosj)el  in  the  communities  where  they  were  planted. 
That  this  issue  should  induce  susjiicion.  disi)utation, 
antagonism  was  inevitable;  the  diversity  between  the 
parties  was  wide,  intense,  and  for  the  time  incurable.- 
What  is  to  be  noted  just  here  is  the  serious  fact  that 
this  controvers\-  was  in  direct  line  with  the  conflicts 
and  antagonisms  already  noted,  and  that  it  became, 
especialh-  in  the  later  periods  of  the  denominational 
struggle,  a  strong  factor  among  the  forces  that  brought 
about  the  final  result. 

The  sixth  and  last  among  the  causes  of  division 
named  was  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  institu- 
tion of  domestic  slavery.  As  earlv  as  1818.  the  ( ien- 
eral  Assembly  had  a(lo])ted  an  emphatic  deliverance 
condeuming  such  slavery  as  a  grievous  wrong,  and 
enjoining  all  churches  and  presbyteries  to  discounte- 
nance the  institution  in  all  possible  ways,  and  especially 
to  discipline  church  members  guilt\'  of  selling  slaves, 
ynless  some  mitigating  circumstances  should  appear. 
This  was  in  harmony  with  the  action  of  the  .Synod  in 
tlu'  preceding  century  and  it  was  followed  in  subse- 
(luent    \ears    li\'    other    declarations    eciualh'    clear    and 


tio  THE  DISRUPTIOX  OF  1837. 

t'ni])liatic.  lUit  the  marked  growth  of  the  Church  in 
tlie  south,  and  tlie  prominence  of  its  ministry  and 
membership  in  that  section  of  the  country  —  to  sav 
nothing-  of  other  influences  social  and  political  con- 
tributing—  induced  in  some  sections  of  the  denomina- 
tion, first  passi\e  endurance,  then  culpable  indiffer- 
ence to  the  existing  evil.  Hut  in  other  sections  the 
sense  of  the  enormity  of  slavery  steadily  increased, 
and  the  hostility  to  it  grew  more  intense,  until  at  length 
the  determination  was  reached  to  array  the  Church 
more  decisively  against  the  evil  at  whatever  cost  to 
denominational  development.  The  issue  was  as  una- 
voidable in  the  Church  as  in  the  Xation  ;  neither  could 
])ermanently  exist  half  slave  and  half  free.  And  it  is 
noticeable  that  long  years  after  the  Disruption,  both 
branches  of  the  divided  Church  were  rent  in  twain  by 
that  issue,  and  that  within  a  generation  the  Nation  was 
l)assing  through  the  agonies  of  civil  war  to  protect 
itself  against  a  disruption  which  slavery  sought  to 
efifect. 

That  the  antagonism  developed  around  this  issue 
became,  especially  in  the  later  stages  of  the  general 
conflict,  one  of  the  active  forces  in  bringing  about  the 
final  division  can  hardly  be  questioned,  although  its 
influence  was  more  incidental  than  direct.  Hostility  to 
slavery  and  the  desire  to  limit  or  to  end  it  by  whatever 
legitimate  means  were  manifest  in  nearly  all  sections, 
even  in  the  more  southerly  portions  of  the  Church,  at 
least  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  Hut  such  hostility  was 
most  openly  manifest  in  those  regions  where  the  most 
liberal  interpretation  of  the  Symbols  prevailed,  where 
revivals  were  luost  abundant,  and  where  church  gov- 


/'/,./.v  ()/•■  r.v/o.v.  Gi 

crniiK'nt  assniiu'd  its  freest  ty])c.  And  while  the  more 
conservative  partv  t^raihially  hecaine  inehned  to  sniter 
the  al)horrent  itistitntion  in  silence,  leaving-  all  action 
respecting  it  to  tlu'  discretion  of  southern  churches, 
jireshvteries.  s\  nods,  the  more  progressive  and  liberal 
element  became  all  the  more  earnest  in  antagoni.sin  to 
it.  and  the  more  stremions  in  the  purpose  to  utilize 
the  judicial  as  well  as  the  moral  authority  of  the 
Church  in  order  to  its  abolition. 

It  is  not  to  be  su])posed  that  the  six  causes  here 
described  were  always  working  together  at  all  times, 
or  were  equally  active  or  e(iually  visible  at  any  given 
time  or  ]:)lace ;  or  that  the\-  always  wrought  in  obvious 
conjunction,  each,  conscious  of  its  affinity  with  all  the 
rest;  or  that  the  result  when  it  came  to  ])ass  could,  so 
far  as  responsibilit\  extended,  be  distributed  among 
them  severally,  with  accuracy  and  with  impartiality. 
The  movements  and  the  issues  of  history  do  not  sub- 
mit to  such  close  analvsis.  In  conjunction  with  these 
productive  causes,  one  important  occasion  or  condition 
should  also  be  introduced  here  —  what  is  known  his- 
torically as  the  Plan  of  I'nion.  During  the  later  de- 
cades of  the  eighteenth  centurv  the  vigorous  Congre- 
gationalism of  New  England  and  the  developing  I'res- 
bvterianism  of  the  other  Atlantic  States  became  asso- 
ciated in  several  wavs  more  or  less  formal  and  ex- 
tensive, in  implanting  the  Gospel  in  which  they  alike 
believed  thronghoiU  the  ra])idl\-  expanding  West.  As 
early  as  1766  the  Syn(Kl  of  Xew  \'ork  and  Philadel- 
])hia  approved  a  definite  scheme  for  fellowship  in  such 
missionarv  endeavor. —  the  object  being  declared  to  be 


62  THE  DISRCPTION  Of  1837. 

tlie  spread  of  true  religion,  the  founding  and  strength- 
ening of  churches,  and  the  magnifying  of  the  name 
and  influence  of  the  two  denominations  in  what  were 
then  tlie  frontiers  of  the  nation.  Conventions  in  fur- 
therance were  held  annually  and  alternately  in  New 
England  and  New  Jersey  until  the  War  of  Independ- 
ence compelled  their  suspension.  But  in  1790,  the 
General  Assemhly,  just  constituted,  sought  a  renewal 
of  such  conference,  and  two  years  later  a  plan  of,,cor- 
respondence  with  the  Association  of  Connecticut  was 
established,  which  in  1794  \yas  so  far  extended  as  to 
give  the  representatives  of  that  body  a  right  to  vote 
in  the  Assembly  —  a  privilege  which  a  few  years  later 
was  granted  to  kindred  As.sociations  in  \'ermont.  New 
Hampshire  and  Massachusetts. 

Out  of  such  fellowship  grew  in  1801  the  Plan  of 
Union,  whereby  on  the  principle  of  mutual  toleration 
and  fellowship  churches  and  ministers  of  the  two  de- 
nominations might  become  affiliated  ecclesiastically  on 
terms  which,  it  was  believed,  would  secure  the  just 
rights  of  all  parties  without  doing  violence  to  either 
of  the  two  types  of  church  government.  Arrangements 
working  toward  this  entl  had  already  in  fact  occurred. 
Presbyterian  ministers  had  organized  Congregational 
churches,  and  Congregational  ministers  had  organized 
Presbyterian  churches,  wherever  the  preponderance 
of  the  one  element  or  the  other  seemed  to  determine 
the  form  of  organization.  Presbyteries,  oppressed  with 
the  vastness  of  the  field  and  work  and  with  the  inade- 
quacy of  their  own  sources  of  supply,  had  assigned 
Congregational  ministers  to  service  within  their  own 
bounds,  and  some  Associations  had  pursued  a  similar 


DiriiRSiriF.S  ARISIXG.  63 

course  wherever  this  was  deemed  exi)e(heiit.  It  was 
inevitahle  that  such  procetkire  should  in  time  result  in 
such  a  hroader,  better  organized,  more  effectual 
scheme  as  the  Plan  of  L'nion  when  ado])ted  aimeil 
to  he.  Its  special  provisions  need  not  he  described 
here.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  a  most  sincere  and 
earnest  desire  existed  on  all  sides  that  in  actual  oper- 
ation neither  party  to  the  Plan  should  have  precedence 
of  the  other  in  whatever  form,  and  that  the  Plan  in 
every  detail  should  be  so  administered  as  best  to  sub- 
serve those  great  missionary  interests  to  whose  furth- 
erance both   denominations  were  alike  devoted. 

High  encomiums  were  pronounced  upon  the  Plan  : 
it  was  wisely  recognized  and  admired  as  the  finest 
expression  of  Christian  fellowship  and  of  denomina- 
tional comity  which  the  continent  had  ever  witnessed. 
Yet  from  the  nature  of  the  case  it  was  but  a  temporary 
expedient.  As  what  was  the  frontier  at  the  opening 
of  the  century  became  more  fully  settled  and  better 
furnished,  it  was  natural  that  each  of  the  denomina- 
tions should  become  more  distinctly  conscious  of  its 
own  independent  strength,  and  should  seek  to  establish 
within  itself  more  positive  and  controlling  forms  of 
fellowship.  The  retreating  frontier  might  continue 
to  call  for  such  fraternal  interaction  in  its  behalf,  but 
in  the  more  matured  sections  of  the  missionary  field 
such  demand  naturally  grew  less  and  less.  There  crept 
in  also  a  growing  inclination  to  emphasize  denomina- 
tional differences  and  laud  denominational  excellen- 
cies, which  tended  more  and  more  to  redtice  interest  in 
the  Plan,  to  embarrass  its  practical  operations,  and 
to  render  manv  minds  less  ardent  in  its  continuance. 


64  THE  DISRUPT  ION  Of  1S37. 

By  deg^rees  the  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  diversities 
arising-  within  the  Presbyterian  fold  g^ave  occasion  for 
questioning-  and  even  for  opposition  to  the  I'nion, 
partly  among  more  zealous  Congregationalists.  but 
chiefly  among  more  strict  adherents  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian standards,  who  apprehended  the  corruption  of 
doctrine  under  and  through  the  existing  compact. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  unfavoring  influences. 
The  question  between  the  relative  value  of  voluntary 
methods  and  ecclesiastical  luethods  in  carrying  on  re- 
ligious work  also  entered  as  a  disintegrating  issue. 
The  education  of  the  ministry  for  distinctively  denom- 
inational work,  the  pulilication  of  literature  adapted  to 
the  needs  and  designed  to  satisfy  the  tastes  of  each 
communion,  the  use  and  distribution  of  moneys  col-- 
lected  for  common  purposes,  and  many  other  kindred 
problems  came  in  to  complicate,  if  not  to  divide.  In 
such  various  ways  the  original  temper  of  toleration 
and  of  trustful  brotherhood  gave  way  to  a  more  pro- 
nounced denominationalism  on  both  sides  ;  the  weaker 
elements  of  the  T'lan  l)ecanie  the  occasion  of  heated 
discussion  ;  suspicion  and  jealousv  grew  more  mani- 
fest in  its  varied  applications.  .And  thus  in  a  single 
generation  what  seemed  in  1801  to  l)e  so  lieautifid  a 
manifestation  and  bond  of  concord,  and  so  advanta- 
geous a  method  of  carr\ing  on  the  one  great  continen- 
tal work,  became  a  chronic  and  an  acute  occasion  of 
difference  —  difference  not  onlv  between  the  two  com- 
munions now  conscioush-  ])arting  company,  but  be- 
tween the  conservative  and  jjrogressive  parties  within 
the  T*resliylerian  bodv  itself,  until  at  last  it  came  to 
lie  an  efficient  inducement,  and  jiossibly  even,  as  some 


Acrnii  COM-Licr  niiniLOPiNG.  fio 

Iia\(.-  tlicuu'-ln.  a  ])i"incii)al   factor  in  the  rupture  which,  ^ 
in   1837  as  in   1741.  rent  the  Clnircli  in  twain. 

Tlu'  causes  and  occasions  of  division  now  l)ecame 
intensely  active:  countervaiHni;-  forces  adecjuate  to  ar- 
rest them  no  louijj-er  existed :  tlie  atmosphere  was 
charj^ed  with  infiammal)le  material,  and  the  explosive 
process  of  vlisruption  went  rapidly  on.  That  process 
mav  he  said  to  have  he^un  at  the  i)oint  of  doctrine, 
thout^h  the  doctrinal  ru])ture  drew  along  with  it  the 
ecclesiastical  and  administrative,  and  involved  as  well 
the  various  practical  elements  of  diversity,  including 
the  Plan  of  I'nion.  The  divergence  in  doctrine,  lead- 
ing on  to  conflicting  interpretation  of  the  Confession 
and  Catechisms,  may  he  said  to  liave  had  its  origin 
historically  as  far  hack  as  the  lmi)rovements,  as  they 
were  called,  made  hy  Jonathan  Edwards  in  the  Cal- 
vinistic  svstem  —  improvements  incorporate<l  in  the 
snl)sequent  theologv  of  such  disci])les  as  Sanuiel  I  lop- 
kins  and  the  dogmatic  teaching  of  President  Dwight 
and  other  \ew  hjigland  divines  in  the  first  decades 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  That  new  form  or  formu- 
lation of  Calvinism,  as  is  well  known,  found  acceptance 
among  many  I'reshyterian  ministers  and  people  —  es- 
])eciall\  those  who  dwelt  along  the  lines  of  latitude 
where  the  migration  from  the  Xew  England  States 
had  Howed  most  freely  in  its  westward  course.  As  a 
more  fresh,  effective  mode  of  stating  and  explaining 
the  accejited  truth,  it  had  distinctively  influenced  the 
teaching  in  nian\  pul])its.  aiTected  the  religious  life 
within  the  churches,  set  forth  the  old  Gosjiel  in  ways 
wliich  un(|uestional)ly,  as  its  friends  helieved,  multi])lied 


66  THE  DISRUPTION  OF  1837. 

its  power  over  the  popular  mind.  And  the  condem- 
nation of  it  as  a  departure  from  sound  Calvinism  had 
only  made  more  firm  the  grasp  of  those  who  embraced 
it,  and  rendered  them  all  the  more  earnest  in  defending 
it,  should  any  necessity  arise,  as  not  a  departure  but 
a  valuable  improvement  rather  on  the  older  type  of 
Calvinism  which  prevailed  more  generally  within  the 
Church. 

The  necessity  soon  arose.  In  1829,  a  sermon  by 
Albert  Barnes,  entitled  the  Way  of  Salvation,  excited 
zealous  opposition  as  indicative  of  a  serious  deviation 
from  both  the  letter  and  the  substance  of  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith.  The  opposition  became  more  intense 
and  more  earnest  upon  the  appearance  a  little  later  of 
his  commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  in 
which  he  was  said  to  have  made  still  more  manifest 
his  theological  affiliation,  not  merely  with  the  theology 
of  Edwards,  but  with  that  new  type  of  Calvinism,  so 
called,  which  on  the  basis  of  the  Edwardean  system 
was  rising  into  prominence  in  New  England  and  else- 
where. Radical  procedures  occurred  in  quick  suc- 
cession, two  trials  in  presbytery  and  as  many  in  synod, 
both  carried  up  to  successive  Assemblies  from  183 1 
on,  until  the  Assembly  of  1836  declared  the  teachings 
though  objectionable  in  statement  still  not  heretical, 
and  restored  the  author  to  the  ecclesiastical  standing 
of  which  during  some  portion  of  the  intervening 
time  he  had  been  deprived. 

The  intense  dogmatic  interest  awakened  by  these 
procedures  was  increased  by  the  almost  simultaneous 
appearance  of  two  other  instances  of  supposed  defec- 
tion   from    the   established    faith.      The   first   of   these 


ECCLESIASTICAL   TRIALS.  61 

arose  on  the  i)ul)li(.atii/n  l»y  George  Duffield  of  a  treat- 
ise on  Regeneration,  in  which  it  was  thought  that  the 
part  of  man  had  heen  unchily  exaUed  and  tlie  sover- 
eignty of  the  Holy  Spirit  impugned,  in  his  analysis 
of  the  sweet  and  sacred  and  in  some  sense  ineffahle 
experience  which  that  term  was  used  to  descrihe.  In 
the  juchcial  trial  that  foUowed,  the  author  was  exon- 
erated l)y  presljytery  from  the  charge  of  heresy,  hut 
warned  against  certain  dangerous  speculations  discov- 
ered in  his  treatment  of  the  profound  theme.  The 
action  of  preshytery  failed  to  secure  the  approhation 
of  the  synod,  hut  the  case  was  carried  no  further  in 
the  ecclesiastical  judicatories.  A  more  notable  case 
occurred  in  the  arraignment  of  Lyman  Beecher  on  the 
charge  of  teaching  in  his  place  as  a  Professor  of  The- 
ology what  were  described  as  Arminian.  even  Pela- 
gian, doctrines  on  such  vital  matters  as  free  agency, 
human  accountability,  original  sin,  total  depravity, 
regeneration  and  salvation  through  grace.  He  also 
was  exonorated  from  this  accusation  in  presbytery, 
and  the  action  was  sustained  in  synod,  but  was  never 
brought  in  judicial  form  before  any  Assembly. 

Meanwhile  what  may  now  be  called  the  Edwardean 
Calvinism,  as  elaborated  by  his  successors  and  disci- 
ples in  New  England,  became  in  and  through  these 
three  ecclesiastical  procedures  more  openly  visible  and 
more  widespread  and  influential.  It  was  accepted  by 
many  ministers  as  helpful  in  setting  forth  the  claims 
of  the  Gospel ;  it  rooted  itself  in  the  conviction  and 
the  experience  of  many  churches  and  believers  ;  it  pro- 
duced large  results  in  seasons  of  revival.  It  made  its 
way    into   presbyteries,   agitated   synods,   and   vear  by 


68  THE  niSRUPriOX  OF  1S37. 

year  disturljed  even  grave  Assemblies.  It  also  drew 
with  it  most  cif  the  other  ])rime  causes  of  disruption 
already  indicated, —  the  rule  of  sul)scription  and  the 
right  of  free  interpretation,  the  general  principle  of 
toleration  and  the  claims  of  l^rotherhood,  and  also  the 
nature  and  range  of  church  government  and  discip- 
line. The  issue  thus  became  continually  more  exten- 
sive, more  complicated,  more  troublesome  alike  to 
those  who  regarded  the  new  doctrine  as  erroneous  and 
corrupting  to  faith,  and  to  those  who  viewed  it  as  a 
broader  and  better  statement  of  essential  truth. 

It  was  natural  that  in  the  ])resence  of  so  grave  a 
ntatter  the  first  class  should  turn,  as  in  the  three  in- 
stances mentioned,  to  the  Book  of  Discipline  for  relief. 
It  being  profoimdh  Ix'lieved  that  the  new  doctrine 
was  not  in  fact  Calvinistic,  l)ut  in  reality  heretical  or 
at  least  tending  toward  dangerous  heresy,  and  that 
its  toleration  could  not  be  a  duty  but  rather  would 
involve  betrayal  of  fundamental  truth  and  unfaith- 
fulness to  the  standards,  nothing  remained  for  them, 
as  thev  supposed,  but  to  invoke  the  corrective  aid  of 
the  church  politv  in  order  to  secure  purity  of  belief 
and  harmoiu'  in  church  life  and  worlc.  The  second 
class  claimed  on  the  contrary  that  their  doctrine  was 
in  conco'-d  if  not  with  the  ver\-  letter,  still  with  the 
substantial  teaching  of  the  Confession,  or  at  least  fell 
clearly  within  the  lines  of  variation  permissilile  among 
Christian  brethren.  They  further  claimed  that  no  ju- 
dicial procedure  should  be  undertaken  until  all  pos- 
silulilies  of  hanuony  and  adjustment  had  been  ex- 
hausted, and  then  only  within  the  clear  lines  of  action 
and    limitation    prescribed    by    the    Constitution    itself. 


/'ROGRfiSS  ()!■  COX  I' LI  CT.  69 

Evils  and  errors,  if  indeed  there  were  such,  that  could 
not  be  reached  by  constitutional  processes  should  — 
it  was  maintained  —  be  endured  until  the  meliorations 
of  time,  and  the  influence  of  further  light  and  knowl- 
edge, and  of  patient  and  loving  fellowship,  should 
under  the  gracious  providence  of  (^od  provide  a  prac- 
tical remedy. 

r>ut  as  the  discussion  yiul  the  conHict  weiit  on  to- 
ward the  later  stages,  it  gradually  became  apparent  to 
all  that  the  issue  in  controversy  had  become  too  ex- 
tensive —  that  the  new  doctrine  with  all  that  accom- 
panied it,  had  infected  so  many  ministers,  churches, 
presbyteries,  and  even  synods,  as  to  be  incurable  » 
through  any  series  of  ecclesiastical  trials  however  pro- 
tracted, and  thus  had  jjassed  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
Book  of  Discipline.  The  party  of  resistance  therefore 
found  itself  facing  the  query  whether  some  procedure 
of  a  more  general  and  radical  nature,  one  h'ing  even 
beyond  the  ex]iress  provisions  of  the  Constitution, 
could  not  be  invoked  to  meet  the  grievous  exigency. 
And  when  at  this  stage  it  was  noted  that  the  infected 
sections  of  the  Church  were  almost  wholly  those  which 
had  come  into  being  under  the  provisions  of  the  Plan 
of  Union,  the  ([uestion  was  at  once  raised  whether  this 
Plan  was  not  itself  unconstitutional  and  in  its  nature 
at  variance  with  sound  Presbyterian  politv  and  prin- 
ci]:)le.  And  this  query  soon  led  to  the  further  question 
whether  the  various  ecclesiastical  proceedings  imdcr 
the  Plan  were  not  in  consequence  irregular  and  void 
—  in  other  words,  whether  the  churches  organized, 
whether  the  ministers  ordained  or  installed,  whether 
the  presbyteries  and  synods  constituted  under  this  ar- 


70        ■  THE  DISRUPTIOX  OF  iSs7- 

ranijement,  were  not  fatally  tainted  by  defective  title, 
and  might  not  on  this  account  be  justly  barred  out  as 
no  longer  a  legitimate  section  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  It  is  not  needful  here  to  answer  these  ques- 
tions or  to  discuss  tlieir  legitimacy ;  it  is  enough  to 
note  that  their  introduction  into  an  arena  already  rent 
with  belligerent  discussion  rendered  more  sure,  more 
inevitable,  the  Disruption  that  followed. 

The  hnal  step  could  not  be  much  longer  delayed. 
All  unifying  considerations,  all  coalescing  agencies 
were  found  to  be  powerless.  The  counsels  of  moder- 
ate men  on  both  sides  were  unheeded  ;  the  prayers  of 
many  who  loved  the  Church  and  desired  its  continued 
unity  and  peace  were  unanswered.  The  general  de- 
clension in  religion,  as  indicated  partially  by  an  actual 
loss  in  the  roll  of  membership  during  the  four  years 
preceding  the  actual  rupture,  may  be  regarded  as  an 
inducing  cause  no  less  than  a  lamentable  effect  of  the 
existing  agitation.  The  chief  arena  of  controversy 
passed,  as  we  have  seen,  from  presbyteries  and  syn- 
ods to  the  General  Assembly  ;  and  the  history  of  the 
Assemblies  from  1830  to  1837  tells  us  how  the  one 
l)arty  or  the  other  in  different  years  predominated, 
how  the  struggle  went  on  with  increasing  intensity, 
how  the  current  grew  swifter  and  more  ominous  until 
the  final  plunge  was  made.  The  records  of  several 
conventions,  held  especially  by  the  conservative  party 
in  order  to  secure  concerted  action  in  the  Assemblies, 
also  bring  into  distinct  view  the  persons,  the  move- 
ments, the  measures,  that  figured  in  the  producing  of 
the  final  result.  That  result  at  the  last  was  compre- 
hensive and  conclusive.     It  included  everv  element  or 


tuf.  fixal  nisRiTi'iox.  ti 

issiK'  that  had  conic  uikUt  (Hscussion  (hirinj^  the  pro- 
ocdinc:-  \ears  of  strife. —  strict  interjiretation  of  the 
S\nilioIs  and  positive  loyalty  to  them,  the  ohlig'ation 
of  close  sul)scription,  tidelity  to  the  church  polity  and 
full  alleg^iance  to  the  denominational  name  and  inter- 
ests. It  included  also  the  enthronement  of  the  churchly 
as  distincj'uished  from  the  voluntary  principle  in  all 
forms  of  Christian  work,  and  the  severance  of  the 
relations  heretofore  existing  between  the  Church  and 
the  foiu'  principal  imdenominational  agencies  for  the 
promotion  of  home  missions,  of  foreign  missions,; 
of  ministerial  education,  of  religious  literature  and' 
publication,  which  had  so  long  shared  in  the  support 
and  beneficence  of  its  membership.  It  questioned  the 
permanent  value  of  much  that  passed  under  the  name 
of  revival,  and  declared  its  preference  for  more  ordi- 
nary and  quiet  methods  of  church  growth.  And  it 
consummated  the  whole  procedure  by  formally  abro- 
gating the  Plan  of  l^nion  as  unconstitutional  and  void, 
aiul  declaring  four  synods,  with  their  presbyteries 
and  their  churches  and  ministrv.  to  be  no  longer  in 
form  or  in  fact  integral  sections  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

That  this  decision  was  an  act  of  supreme  power 
for  which  no  provision  existed  in  the  Constitution. 
o'kI  which  assumed  more  the  character  of  a  revolution 
than  of  a  transaction  under  law.  mav  lie  admitted. 
That  the  act  was,  in  view  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  justifiable  and  necessary,  an  expedient  to  meet  a 
fearful  exigency  which  could  in  no  other  way  be  met. 
IS  a  proposition  that  remains  and  will  always  remain 
a  painful  tpiestion.      I'ut  the   fact   survives  in  history 


72  THE  DISRUPTION  OF  1837. 

that  a  Church  which,  after  passing  through  one  dis- 
astrous rupture,  had  lived  in  concord  for  almost  a 
century,  and  meanwhile  through  much  labor  and  sac- 
rifice had  attained  dimensions  well-nigh  continental, 
now  came  through  a  singular  combination  of  untoward 
causes  and  occasions  to  a  second  disruption,  far  more 
disastrous  than  the  first,  and  became  two  Churches  — 
each  still  retaining  unchanged  the  same  polity,  still 
adhering  to  the  same  Confession  and  to  the  Calvinistic 
name,  and  alike  conscious  that  in  their  essential  prin- 
ciples they  still  were  truly  one,  yet  variant  and  much 
embittered  in  spirit,  and  going  forth  before  all  observers 
as  rival  claimants  for  position  and  influence  in  the 
land. 


CHAPTER   THIRD. 

Genesis  and  Evolution. 
1838-1849. 

Witliin  the  domain  of  IVotestanlisni  new  sects 
liave  almost  universally  come  into  existence  through 
the  voluntary  withdrawal  of  some  group  or  party  in 
a  parent  organization  on  the  ground  of  some  particu- 
lar difference  in  doctrine,  order  o""  sacrament,  resulting 
in  the  genesis  of  a  new  denomination,  with  a  distinc- 
tive name  and  a  separate  life,  partly  as  an  expression 
of  dissent  or  perhaps  avowed  antagonism,  but  chiefly 
for  the  better  manifestation  or  wider  diffusion  of  that 
to  which  the  withdrawing  party  specially  adhered.  In 
the  instance  whose  history  is  here  to  be  traced,  the 
new  sect  became  a  distmct  organism,  not  by  its  own 
selection,  but  through  tlje  process  of  exclusion  which 
has  been  already  described,  antl  in  defiance  of  its 
earnest  desire  to  remain,  with  title  unchallenged  and 
its  liberties  uiyabridged,  within  the  ancestral  abode. 

Overwhelmed  at  first  by  the  perplexities  of  its 
anomalous  position,  the  excluded  party  was  in  no  con- 
dition to  organize  itself  as  a  separate  denomination. 
Considerable  variety  of  opinion  still  existed  among 
its  members  as  to  some  of  the  phases  of  doctrine 
involved  in  the  conflict  which  had  resulted  so  disas- 
trously, as  to  the  value  of  the  Symbols  and  the  limits 
of  interpretation,  as  to  the  policy  of  emphasizing  the 
points  of  diff'erence  rather  than  the  points  of  agree- 
ment still  reiuaining.  Xor  were  they  consciously 
agreed  in  the  measure  of  their  loyalty  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian polity,  or  the  amount  of  fealty  due  to  the  prev- 


74:  GENESIS  AND    El'OLVTION. 

alent  FVesbyterian  sentiment  or  metliods.  Though 
all  or  nearly  all  preferred  the  voluntary  above  the 
strictly  ecclesiastical  form  of  evangelizing  effort,  there 
still  remained  considerable  diversity  both  of  judg- 
ment and  of  practice  at  this  point  also.  Between  the 
four  exscinded  synods  there  were  no  direct  channels 
of  communication  ;  their  various  presbyteries  had  no 
practical  points  of  contact  one  with  another ;  eccle- 
siastical unity  hardly  suggested  itself  to  any  as  a 
possibility.  Indeed,  the  exscinded  party  was  at  first 
little  more  than  a  confused  collection  of  ministers, 
churches,  organizations,  swept  awav  together  as  by 
some  resistless  flood.  —  an  aggregation  but  dimly  con- 
scious of  any  unity  in  purpose  or  prospect,  and  wholly 
impre])ared  to  take  any  immediate  steps  toward  con- 
solidating themselves  in  one  unified,  compact,  effective 
organization. 

In  a  situation  so  perplexing  there  were  wide  diver- 
sities in  individual  judgment  and  inclination.  Some 
were  wholly  disinclined  to  attempt  the  experiment  of 
independent  ecclesiastical  existence  amid  conditions 
so  unfavorable.  A  few  preferred  some  sort  of  com- 
promise even  at  the  cost  of  humiliating  surrender,  and 
some  stronglv  desired  to  make  their  way  by  almost 
anv  fair  and  honorable  procedure  back  into  the  dear 
ancestral  home.  Some  differed  from  others  as  to  the 
best  process  of  forming  a  new  organization,  should 
one  be  attempted,  and  scattered  abroad  as  they  were, 
many  were  unable  to  cherish  that  measure  of  mutual 
trust  and  assurance  out  of  which  alone  such  an  organ- 
ization could  grow.  Moreover,  the  loss  of  all  church 
properties    and    endowments,    and    of    all    the    church 


./  /'/•;a'/7./-;.\7.V{;  sin  .mow  75 

iiiachinerios  and  inthu'iicf.  left  tlu'  s\  nods  and  their 
dependencies  in  a  liel])lcss  condition,  rcsourcclcss  and 
impoverished  ahiiost  to  the  point  of  {lcs])air.  'i'he  sit- 
nation  lias  sometimes  l)een  com])ared  with  that  of  the 
Free  (."lun-cli  of  Scolhmd  in  1S43,  l)ut  in  fact  it  was 
far  more  trvins^:.  That  liody  went  ont  from  tlie  mother 
Church  vohmtarily.  with  the  liaimer  of  a  single  and 
distinct  issue  waving  over  it.  and  with  a  degree  of 
homogeneousness  and  a  compacted  pur])ose  and  temper 
which  made  its  separation  a  hap]\v  exodus  rather  chan 
an  unwelcome  hanishiuent. 

The  perplexity  was  greatly  increased  by  the  action 
of  the  Assembly  of  1837.  in  opening  the  door  for  indi- 
vidual ministers  and  churches  within  the  four  synods 
to  return  to  the  fold  upon  proper  acceptance  of  its 
jurisdiction  and  decisions.  In  response  to  this  invita- 
tion, some  of  the  persons  excluded  withdrew  early 
from  fellowship  with  the  rest,  and  went  back  into  the 
old  relations.  In  August  of  that  year  four  ministers 
and  one  or  two  churches  ])ul)licl\'  announced  the  sev- 
erance of  their  connection  with  the  excluded  presby- 
teries, and  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  adjacent  ])resbytery 
of  Susquehanna,  and  within  a  few  years  this  presbytery 
grew  by  addition  and  sul)(li\ision  into  three  presby- 
teries, comprising  thirtx  ministers  and  twenty-two 
churches.  In  a  similar  way  a  fourth  presbytery, 
( )gdensburg.  came  into  l)eing  after  a  little,  and  in 
1846  these  four  ])resb\teries  were  combined  in  the 
rival  svnod  of  lUitialo.  Secessions  of  members  from 
churches  that  adhered  to  the  excluded  ])resbyteries 
occurred  in  manv  instances,  with  luuch  of  feeling  and 
no   small    measure   (jf  conflict    among   those   who  once 


7(j  GENESIS  AMD  EfOLUTIOX. 

had  been  friends.  Bitter  debates  and  strifes,  suits 
respecting  church  property,  unseemly  rivalries  between 
churches,  and  other  disastrous  events  followed,  and 
it  was  soon  manifest  to  all  that  the  career  of  the  new 
denomination,  should  one  be  organized,  must  be  at- 
tended by  widespread  rupture,  struggle,  sacrifice,  and 
the  keenest  sorrow. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  source  of  embarrassment. 
In  August,  1837,  the  Congregational  Association  of 
New  York  advised  all  such  churches  as  had  been  or- 
ganized under  the  Plan  of  Union,  now  formally 
declared  null  and  void,  to  withdraw  from  all  Presby- 
terian connection  and  become  entirely  Congregational 
in  organization  and  fellowship.  It  proposed,  in  other 
'words,  that  all  churches  and  ministers  that  were  agreed 
with  it  in  polity  and  doctrine,  should  sever  their  rela-  • 
tionship  with  the  excluded  synods,  and  form  under 
its  banner  a  better  ecclesiastical  union,  free  from  all 
entangling  afiiliations.  However  kindly  or  just  the 
invitation,  it  could  only  multiply  and  intensify  the 
emliarrassment  surrounding  the  exscinded  body.  Yet 
its  effect  was  less  disastrous  than  might  have  been 
anticipated.  While  a  few  churches,  weary  with  the  "^ 
strife  existing  and  fearing  further  trouble,  accepted 
the  proposition,  the  large  majority  of  the  Plan  of 
Union  churches  preferred  to  continue  their  historic 
relationship,  and  to  stand  firmly  by  their  brethren  who 
had  suffered  and  were  suffering  so  much,  partly  on 
their  account.  The  living  consciousness  of  substantial 
unity  in  belief,  the  strong  spiritual  ties  established 
during  the  recent  revivals,  the  pleasant  bond  of  neigh- 
borhood and  brotherhood  socially  develojied,  and  pos- 


THE  AUBURN  COXUliXTIOX.  77 

sibly  the  conviction  tliat  tlic  I'rcsl)ytorian  mode  of 
government,  riglitly  administered,  was  not  so  far  out 
of  the  way.  lield  them  in  their  place. 

Tlie  first  positive  step  toward  an  independent  or- 
j^anization  and  hfe  —  a  ste])  taken  in  the  face  of  such 
unfavoral)le  concHtions  —  was  th.'  C'onventi(Mi  of  re])- 
resentatives  from  tlie  exchided  Ixjdy.  witli  some  dele- 
£^ates  from  sxnipatliizinfi"  sections  of  tlie  Church, 
which  was  held  in  the  August  after  the  disruption  at 
Au])urn.  Xew  York.  The  main  object  of  this  Conven- 
tion was  to  bring  about  better  ac(|uaintance  and  larger 
consciousness  of  unity  within  the  excluded  liody.  to 
consult  respecting  the  course  i)rt)per  to  be  i)ursue(l  in 
the  painful  emergencx'  that  had  arisen,  and  incidentally 
to  gain  so  far  as  ])racticable  the  sxmjjathy  and  supj^ort 
of  friendlv  parties  in  other  sections  of  the  Church.  It 
was  composed  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  persons, 
clerical  and  lay.  all  of  whom  but  fourteen  had  been 
commissioned  to  this  service  l)y  thirty-three  jjresby- 
teries  within  the  bounds  of  the  four  synods.  Some 
of  the  members  represented,  more  or  less  formally, 
other  presbyteries  in  the  States  of  Xew  York,  Xew 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  in  the  east,  and  in  Ohio, 
Indiana  and  Illinois  iri  the  west.  It  is  surely  a  signi- 
ficant indication  of  the  extent  and  strength  of  the 
opposition  excited  by  the  disruption  that  in  those  days 
of  difificult  travel  so  large  a  company  should  have 
come  so  great  distances  and  at  so  much  expense  to 
attend  such  a  convocation. 

In  respect  to  personal  character  and  to  denomina- 
tional standing  the  Convention  was  a  remarkable  bodv. 


78  GENESIS   AXD   EfOLUTIOX. 

James  Richards,  Lyman  Beecher,  Samuel  Hanson 
Cox,  Luther  Halsey,  and  Drs.  McAuley,  of  New  York, 
and  Hillyer.  of  New  Jersey,  and  Judge  WilHam  Jessup 
of  Pennsylvania, —  not  to  mention  others  —  were  men 
of  the  first  rank  in  the  Church  an-1  in  society.  Two  of 
their  number  had  been  Moderators  of  the  Assembly 
from  which  they  were  now  formally  expelled.  In 
general,  the  membership  represented,  not  the  more 
ardent  and  belligerent,  but  rather  the  moderate  and 
thoughtful,  and  in  a  proper  sense  conservative  elements 
in  the  exscinded  section.  The  venerable  Dr.  Richards 
who  was  first  a  pastor  in  New  Jersey,  and  now  had 
been  for  fourteen  years  a  professor  of  Systematic 
Theology  in  the  Seminary  at  Auburn,  a  man  of  sin- 
gular wisdom  and  prudence  and  of  unquestioned 
orthodoxy,  was  choseri  to  act  as  chairman,  and  his  con- 
siderate and  devout  temper  became  a  controlling 
influence  throughout  the  deliberations  that  followed. 

It  was  anticipated  in  some  quarters  that  the  Con- 
vention would  in  the  course  of  its  discussions  make 
manifest  the  existence  of  wide,  possibly  irreconcilable 
diversity  among  its  members,  in  regard  not  only  to 
doctrine  and  polity,  but  especially  to  the  real  character 
•of  the  emergency  that  had  brought  them  together  and 
the  course  to  be  pursued  in  view  of  that  emergency. 
There  were  those  who  prophesied  that  the  Convention 
would  dissolve  into  fragments,  and  that  the  result 
would  be  the  return  of  the  better  portion  to  the  ances- 
tral fold,  with  such  a  statement  of  doctrinal  views  and 
of  loval  disposition  as  would  enable  the  Church  to 
receive  them  back  with  cordiality,  while  the  lesser, 
more  pernicious  portion  would  break  away  altogether 


and  pass  over  into  the  Congregational  or  other  coni- 
nnmions.  Such  anticipations,  sucli  prophecies,  were 
happily  (hsappointed.  Tendencies  to  disintegration, 
so  far  as  they  existed,  were  held  in  check  from  the 
start :  the  proposal  tiiat  the  ecclesiastical  separation 
which  had  taken  place,  shcjuld  he  regarded  as  final, 
])recluding  all  attempts  at  reconciliation  or  return,  was 
disregarded.  As  the  records,  and  also  the  suhsequent 
testimony  of  participants  show,  wiser  and  better  coun- 
sels prevailed  throughout. 

On  one  side  it  was  earnestly  alarmed  that  the  action 
of  the  Assemhlv  in  cutting  off  the  four  synods  with 
their  dependencies,  and  on  the  ground  of  vague  and 
unsupported  charges  declaring  them  no  longer  con- 
stituent parts  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  was  uncon- 
stitutional and  therefore  itself  null  and  void.  This 
affirmation  was  one  in  which  all  could  and  did  agree, 
and  it  constituted  in  a  word  and  in  positive  form  the 
ecclesiastical  platform  of  the  Convention.  On  the 
other  side  it  was  with  equal  positiveness  and  unanimity 
affirmed  that  the  purposes  and  movements  of  all  the 
excluded  judicatories  ought  for  the  time  being  to  be 
directed  to  the  preservation  of  the  unity  and  integrity 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  on  the  principles  of  good 
faith,  brotherly  kindness  and  the  Constitution.  The 
effect  of  this  affirmation  was  to  arrest  any  inclination 
to  independent  action  on  the  part  not  only  of  presby- 
teries but  also  of  particular  churches  and  ministers, 
and  to  show  to  all  that  there  was  to  be  nothing  hurried, 
premature,  frantic  in  any  steps  that  might  in  future 
be  taken. 

In  accordance   with   these  resolutions,   it   was  spe- 


86  GENESIS  AND   El'OLUTION. 

cially  agreed  that  all  the  preshyteries  directly  involved 
sliould  retain  their  existing  organization,  and  should 
elect  and  send  commissioners  to  the  next  Assemhly  as 
usual.  A  committee  was  also  aj^pointed  to  secure  such 
action  in  the  several  preshyteries,  and  in  general  to 
labor  toward  the  attainment  of  the  ends  sought  by 
and  through  the  Convention.  Tlie  spirit  of  union  and 
the  desire  and  jnirpose  to  act  together  in  all  essential 
matters  predominated  at  every  stage,  and  the  several 
declarations  and  resolutions  were  passed  with  great 
imanimitv, —  the  bo'dy  pausing  in  its  l)usiness  to  offer 
solenm  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the  unity  that  had 
characterized  its  ])roceedings.  A  day  of  fasting,  humil- 
iation and  prayer  was  appointed  in  view  of  the  divided 
condition  of  the  Church,  and  the  low  state  of  religion 
in  the  c(nmtr\' ;  and  the  Convention,  after  four  days 
of  deliberation,  was  formally  closed  with  the  singing 
of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-third  Psalm  and  the 
apostolic  benediction  bv  the  venerable  Chairman,  then 
in  his  seventieth  year,  and  who  six  years  later  entered 
into  eternal  rest.* 

Important  as  were  these  ecclesiastical  deliverances 
of  the  Convention,  its  action  respecting  church  doc- 
trine was  much  more  important.  The  general  charge 
of  doctrinal  defection,  made  in  various  forms  during 

*  James  Ruh.vrds,  D.  D..  born  Oct.  "29,  17f)7 ;  licensed, 
17})8;  pastor  Morri.stown,  N.  J.,  1794-1809;  Newark.  N.  J., 
1809-1823:  Prof,  of  Theology.  Auburn  Theol.  Sem..  1823  till 
his  death,  Aug.  2,  1843.  Moderator  of  Gen.  Assembly,  1805 ; 
I).  D..  Yale,  1815;  Author  of  Lectures  on  Mental  Philosophy 
and  Theology ;  also,  volume  of  Discourses,  both  published 
after  his  death.  "With  considerable  learning,  and  a  terse  and 
simple  style,  he  combined  in  a  high  degree  the  talent  which  is 
best  of  all  talents  —  common  sense."  So  testified  William  H. 
Seward,   his    neighbor  and   friend. 


I'Hli  .UHChW  niiCl-lRAIlOX.  81 

the  progress  of  the  judicial  trials  already  referred  to, 
was  fornuilated  more  definitely  in  the  notable  Act  and 
Testimony,  a  document  presented  by  tbe  conservative 
minority  to  the  Assembly  of  1834.  and  in  the  Deliver- 
ance of  the  Assembly  of  1835  against  opinions  existing 
within  the  Church  whicli  —  it  was  said  —  were  not 
distinguishable  from  Pelagian  or  Arminian  errors. 
Hut  in  a  Convention  held  just  before  the  meeting  of 
the  Assembly  of  1837,  a  further  Testimony  and 
Memorial  was  adopted  which  contained  a  list  of  six- 
teen specific  errors  alleged  to  exist,  of  such  nature  and 
magnitude  as  —  it  was  declared  —  to  demand  prompt 
judicial  consideration.  The  doctrinal  issue  was  thus 
brought  at  once  to  the  front,  and  became. —  as  has 
been  stated  —  one  main  feature  and  toi)ic  in  the  dis- 
cussions that  preceded  the  Disruption.  It  was  conse- 
quently incumbent  on  those  who  were  charged  with 
holding  these  errors,  both  to  disavow  the  heresv  de- 
scribed and  to  set  forth  by  contrast  what  they  really 
believed.  Hence  arose  the  counter  document,  at  first 
styled  Errors  and  True  Doctrines  —  a  statement  pre- 
pared by  members  of  that  Assembly  in  refutation  of 
the  charge  of  teaching  what  was  contrary  to  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith.  But  the  Assembly  virtually  rejected 
their  explanation,  and,  thus  left  the  responding  partv 
under  the  grievous  imputation  of  unsoundness  in  the 
faith  as  set   forth  in  the  church  standards. 

Hut  the  statement  thus  rejected  by  the  Assembly 
became  the  headstone  of  the  corner  in  the  .Auburn 
Convention,  and  afterwards  in  the  developing  denom- 
ination. The  convention  took  uj)  the  statement 
originating  in  such  painful  circumstances,  and  openly 


82  GENESIS  AND   EVOLUTION. 

adopted  it  as  expressing  its  own  matured  belief  and 
that  of  the  churches  and  ministers  which  it  represented, 
on  the  several  doctrines  involved.  It  thus  became 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Auburn  Declaration  —  a 
representative  document,  not  indeed  to  be  regarded 
as  a  substitute  for  the  Confession  of  Faith,  as  has 
sometimes  been  supposed,  but  simply  as  a  reasonable 
and  satisfactory  explanation  and  commentary  on  what 
the  Confession  was  believed  to  teach.  The  Convention 
had  not  been  called  together  to  make  a  new  creed,  or 
even  to  expound  the  old  creed  authoritatively,  and  it 
was  careful  not  to  go  beyond  its  proper  sphere.  But 
as  the  original  document  had  been  put  forth  as  a 
formal  protest  against  injurious  allegations,  and  as 
such  allegations  continued  to  be  made  against  the 
ministers  and  congregations  comprised  in  the  four 
synods,  it  was  deemed  needful  to  utter  this  open  and 
positive  Declaration,  in  the  hope  that  it  would  check 
all  unjust  interpretation  and  would  make  manifest  to 
all  men  what  was  the  real  belief  of  the  excluded  party. 
A  full  account  of  the  contents  of  this  Declaration, 
undoubtedly  the  most  interesting  and  commanding 
statement  of  esential  doctrine  in  the  history  of  Amer- 
ican Presbyterianism,  is  not  needful  or  practicable 
here.  The  main  points  defined  or  expounded  in  it  are, 
first,  the  introduction  and  transmission  of  sin,  and  the 
condition  of  mankind  as  fallen  and  corrupt  through 
sin  ;  second,  the  relation  of  the  divine  and  the  human 
in  regeneration  and  deliverance  from  sin,  and  in  the 
spiritual  life  resulting;  and  third,  the  nature  and  char- 
acteristics and  extent  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  through 
the  mediation  and  atonement  of  Christ. 


ITS  rilLOLOGlC  r.ii.rti.  83 

Rut  more  specifically  each  of  these  main  i)oints  was 
expanded  in  the  document  in  a  series  of  minor  propo- 
sitions or  articles,  so  framed  as  to  meet  in  each  par- 
ticular the  charge  of  Pelagian  or  Arminian  error  on 
one  side,  and  on  the  other  to  present  the  antithetic 
truths,  sixteen  in  number,  as  these  are  set  forth  in 
Scripture  and  in  the  Symbols  also,  in  contrast  with 
what  the  Convention  believed  to  be  defective,  possibly 
erroneous,  interpretations  of  the  creed  set  forth  by  the 
conservative  party  —  the  party  of  prosecution.  The 
chief  values  of  the  Declaration  lay  in  what  it  was  as 
a  protest  against  narrow  or  defective  confessional  ex- 
position, and  as  a  clear  and  open  testimony  to  what 
was  held  and  cherished  as  essential  truth.  In  this 
respect  it  resembled  and  followed  the  Confession  itself. 
And  as  such  its  verbal  lucidity,  its  line  balancings  in 
statement,  its  reverential  pauses  at  each  point  where 
real  doctrine  might  degenerate  into  disputatious  spec- 
ulation, and  above  all  its  thoughtful  moderation  and 
its  devout  temper  and  spiritual  influence  gave  it  wide 
currency  from  the  first,  and  still  continue  to  make  it, 
though  signed  and  sealed  by  no  formal  endorsement 
even  by  the  denomination  that  accepted  it,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  fruitful  symbols  of  recent  times. 


During  the  autumn  of  1837  and  the  trying  winter 
that  followed,  the  general  situation  was  unchanged. 
The  excluded  churches  and  ministers  carried  on  their 
special  work  with  a  measure  of  diligence  which  possi- 
blv  was  energized  by  their  sense  of  the  wrong  wrought 
in  their  estimation,  and  by  a  growing  conviction  that 


84  GENESIS  AXD   EVOLVTION. 

their  position  was  essentially  rig^ht  and  was  therefore 
certain  to  secure  extensive  sympathy  and  support. 
In  some  quarters  this  sense  of  wrong  led  to  extreme 
hostility  toward  the  exscinding  party,  and  even  toward 
Presbyterianism  itself.  But  such  was  the  commanding 
influence  of  the  Auburn  Convention,  that  all  revolu- 
tionary tendencies,  so  far  as  these  existed,  were  held 
in  check,  and  although  lowering  clouds  hung  darkly 
over  the  future,  the  spirit  of  unity  survived,  and  a 
temper  of  courageous  devotion  was  manifest.  And 
in  the  spring  of  1838  all  of  the  presbyteries  but  two, 
following  tlie  advice  of  the  Convention,  elected  com- 
missioners to  the  General  Assembly  as  heretofore. 

In  taking  this  course  the  majority,  though  not  all, 
hoped  that  this  Assembly  would  reconsider  the  action 
of  its  predecessor,  and  take  some  steps  which  even  at 
this  stage  would  preserve  the  Church  from  rupture 
absolute  and  perpetual.  It  was  hoped  that  the  temper- 
ate and  judicious  course  of  the  Auburn  Convention 
W'Ould  lead  the  dominant  party  to  see,  not  perhaps  that 
wrong  had  been  done  in  the  excision,  but  at  least  that 
the  way  was  still  open  for  some  adjustment,  upon  the 
principle  of  nnitual  toleration,  wdiich  might  prevent 
the  scandal  of  utter  and  bitter  separation.  There  were 
also  many  outside  of  the  bounds  of  the  four  synods, 
who  though  themselves  remaining  within  the  Church, 
were  still  in  active  sympathy  with  the  excluded  party, 
and  strongly  desired  that  its  representatives  should  be 
received  by  the  Assembly,  and  that  an  earnest  attempt 
at  reconciliation  and  adjustment  should  be  made.  And 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  if  all  parties  had  ap- 
proached the  difficult  problem  in  the  temper  of  broth- 


AX  ECCLISlASriLWI.   COXI'LICT.  80 

criv  love  and  mutual  forhcaraiioc  —  if  the  spirit  of 
faction  and  the  love  of  supremacy  and  the  heats  of 
resentment  and  other  like  infirmities  had  heen  sup- 
pressed on  all  sides,  the  evils  of  complete  disruption 
miq^ht   even  at   this  last  stage  have  been  escaped. 

What  followed,  it  would  he  painful  to  describe  in 
detail.  At  the  orja:anization  of  the  Assembly  its  otificers 
refused  to  recognize  the  commissioners  from  the 
ejected  presbyteries  as  members,  on  the  ground  that 
the  bodies  they  represented  were  no  longer  constitu- 
ent parts  of  the  Church.  A  motion  to  enroll  them, 
offered  by  other  commissioners  who  believed  the  action 
of  1837  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  therefore  held  that 
these  representatives  were  still  within  the  Church  and 
entitled  to  admission  to  the  Assembly,  was  declared  to 
be  out  of  order  and  illicit.  The  door  of  admission  was 
thus  closed;  conference  within  the  Assembly  with  a 
view  to  some  adjustment  became  under  this  ruling 
impossible.  At  this  juncture,  amid  great  confusion, 
the  unprecedented  process  of  deposing  the  obstructive 
officials,  and  electing  others  in  their  stead,  was  under- 
taken,—  commissioners  from  twenty-nine  presbyteries 
outside  of  the  four  synods,  nearly  sixty  in  number, 
joining  in  this  revolutionary  measure.  Such  a  pro- 
cedure could  be  justified,  if  at  all,  only  on  the  ground 
that  the  officials  arraigned  were  assuming  prerogatives 
not  vested  in  them,  even  though  the  Assembly  of  1837 
had  instructed  them  to  act  as  they  were  acting, —  that 
the  party  in  j)ovver  was  nullifying  the  Constitution, 
and  trampling  on  the  rights  of  loyal  Presbyterians, — 
and  that  no  alternative  was  left  to  the  aggrieved  party 
but  to  secure  their  rightful   place   within   the  Church 


8G  GENESIS   .IXP   EVOLUTION. 

even  through  such  revohition.  It  may  he  added  that 
eminent  legal  cf)unsel  had  advised  that  in  such  an 
emergencv  as  had  arisen,  such  a  process  of  organiza- 
ti(>n  must  l)e  carried  through  in  order  to  secure  to  the 
liherah party  its  place  and  title  and  pro])erty  interests 
within  the  Church. 

\\diether  with  or  without  sut^cient  warrant,  the 
revoluticMiary  step  was  taken.  The  otifending  ofificers 
were  sujjerseded  :  one  wdio  had  hecome  conspicuous 
in  the  movement,  Dr.  lieman,  a  former  Moderator,* 
was  called,  to  preside ;  other  action  requisite  to  complete 
the  organization  was  adopted  :  and  those  who  shared 
in  the  ])rocedm-e.  claiming  now  to  he  the  true  and  only 
( ieneral  .\ssenil)lv  of  tlie  Preshyterian  Church,  ad- 
journed and  witlulrew  to  meet  elsewhere.  Those  wdio 
remained,  making  the  same  claim,  proceeded  to  com- 
])lete  their  organization  as  an  Assemhlv,  the  superseded 
officers  presiding,  as  if  no  interruption  had  occurred. 
And  the  fatal  die  was  now  cast ;  the  se])aration  was 
com])lete  and  final.  The  faithful  historian,  viewing 
in  all  its  stages  and  aspects  the  conflict  thus  ending. 
es])eciallv  in  the  light  of  suhse(|uent  history,  and  apply- 
ing to  it  such  tests  as  Christian  princi])le  and  Chris- 
tian charity  mav  supply,  will  prohahly  he  led  to  con- 
clude that  if  all  inferior  motives  and  douhtful  meas- 
ures had  heen  cast  aside,  and  the  vast  denominational 


*Nathan  S.  S.  Benian,  I).  I).,  horn  New  Lebanon.  N.  Y., 
1785:  graduated  Middlebni  v  College,  1807:  pastor  Portland, 
Me..  181(1;  missionary  in  Georgia:  pastor  Troy,  N.  Y.,  182'2- 
18(!;:5:  died  Carbondale,  Ills.,  1871.  .'Kutbor  of  Sermons  on  the 
Atoneinent  and  other  discourses:  compiler  of  Cliureh  Psalm- 
ist. Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1831,  six  years 
before   tbe    Disruption. 


./.V.S7-;  .!//>'/.)■   ()/•'    1?<MS.  87 

interests  ini])crilk'(I  had  been  duly  considered,  in  the 
temper  of  brotherly  love  and  true  loyaltv  to  the  one 
Church  and  Kini^doni  of  ( iod  among  men,  something 
better,  something  nobler,  something  more  beautiful 
and  C'hristlike.  might  have  transpired. 

Those  who  withdrew  from  that  scene  of  strife  and 
gathered  themselves  together  in  another  sanctuarv, 
now  realized  as  never  before  that  a  new  denonnnation 
had  b\  tlieir  act  come  into  being.  They  ]3roceeded  at 
once  to  the  performance  of  the  duties  incuml)ent  upon 
a  ( ieneral  .Asseml)ly  under  the  Form  of  (iovernment. 
H^v  roll  of  nieml)ership  having  been  dul\-  adopted, 
the  Rev.  Sanuiel  h'isher,  1).  1).,=^=  was  elected  Moder- 
ator: stated  and  permanent  clerks  were  chosen;  com- 
mittees on  rules,  on  i)ills  and  overtures,  on  judicial 
business  and  other  kindred  matters  were  appointed; 
and  the  body  —  much  o])pressed  meanwhile  bv  the 
strangeness  and  the  difficult)-  of  the  situation — settled 
down  to  work  and  to  serious  contemplation  of  the 
future. 

The  personnel  of  the  first  .Assembly  was  note- 
worthy. .Among  its  memliers  we'-e  .Albert  Barnes  and 
Thomas  I'rainard,  Flrskine  Mason  and  William  Pat- 
ton.  IJeman  and  Squier  and  the  venerated  James  Rich- 
ards, President  Pierce  and  .Aikin  and  Cleveland.  Pres- 
ident Edward  P>eecher  and  Flavel  iiascom,  Lyman 
P>eecher  and   Ikixter  Dickinson,  whose  facile  i)en  had 


*  Samuel  Fishek,  D.  1)..  lioni  in  .Sundci-land,  Mass.,  June 
30,  1777;  graduated  Williams  College,  1799;  pastor  Wilton, 
Conn..  1804-9;  Morristown.  N.  J..  1809-14;  Pater.son,  N.  j.. 
1814-:M:  Ramapo.  N.  Y..  1884-40;  Greenbush,  1844-r)0.  Died 
Dec.  29,18:)ti,  at  Snckasnnnv,  N.  J..  D.  D.  Coll.  of  New  Jersey. 
18-J7.      Father  of   Sanniel   VV.    Fislicr,    D.    D,,    Moderator,    1857. 


88  GENESIS  AND  EVOLUTION. 

drafted  the  Auburn  Declaration.  Many  others  of 
somewhat  less  prominence  were  present,  representing 
not  only  the  exscinded  territory,  but  also  presbyteries 
as  remote  as  Illinois  and  Tennessee.  There  were  val- 
uable elders  also,  men  prominent  as  judges,  lawyers, 
physicians,  teachers,  merchants, —  men  of  character 
and  influence  wdio  did  much  to  guide  and  give  tone 
and  weight  to  the  deliberations.  For  the  new  move- 
ment was  not  something  in  which  ministers  only  were 
concerned :  there  were  many  laymen  in  all  sections 
who  deeply  felt  the  shock  and  pain  of  their  enforced 
separation  from  a  Church  in  which  many  of  them  had 
begun  their  religious  life,  and  to  whose  upbuilding 
they  had  up  to  that  fatal  crisis  been  ardently  devoted. 
The  first  formal  act  of  the  Assembly  was  the  adop- 
tion of  a  preamble  and  resolution  condemnatory  of 
the  excision  of  1837,  and  afiirming  the  title  of  the 
excluded  synods  and  presbyteries  to  full  standing 
within  the  Church ;  denouncing  the  exclusion  of  the 
commissioners  from  these  bodies  as  unwarranted,  and 
declaring  the  entire  proceedings  of  the  conservative 
party  an  unworthy  violation  of  the  rights  guaranteed 
under  the  Form  of  Government.  Claiming  to  be  the 
only  true  Assembly,  it  demanded  all  records  and  other 
papers  in  the  hands  of  the  other  body,  including  the 
commissions  of  all  delegates,  and  proceeded  to  elect 
trustees  to  care  for  all  church  property,  and  directors 
of  the  several  theological  seminaries  under  Assembly 
care,  as  though  it  alone  had  legitimate  jurisdiction  in 
these  matters.  It  also  appointed  a  special  committee, 
with  full  power  to  act  in  respect  to  all  legal  questions 
and  all  pecuniary  interests,  that  might  need  attention 


./.V.S7-.U/V/.)-   .U'l'IOX.  8!> 

duriiii;"  the  year  in  coiiu'.  At  the  sanu'  time  after  full 
(hscussion  it  declared  itself  willing  to  a^ree  to  any 
measures  that  nii^ht  l)e  pro])osed,  looking"  to  an  anii- 
cahle  adjustment  of  the  existinj;  dit^eulties. 

The  Assemhly  further  defined  its  position,  in  con- 
trast with  that  of  the  Assemhly  of  1837,  hy  atfirminj^ 
the  usefulness  of  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society  and  the  .American  I-'ducation  Society,  and  com- 
mending- these  undenominational  agencies  to  the  con- 
tinued confidence  and  support  of  the  churches.  Also, 
l)v  rescinding  the  rule  of  the  .Assemhly  refpiiring  the 
examination  of  ministers  passing  from  one  preshytery 
into  another,  and  also  its  rule  regulating  the  admission 
of  commissioners  from  preshyteries  newly  formed.  It 
took  action  also  in  regard  to  the  use  of  ahhreviated 
creeds  in  the  particular  churches,  such  use  having-  heen 
condemned  hy  the  previous  Asseml)ly  as  tending 
toward  la.x  departure  from  the  church  standards,  and 
while  declaring-  that  no  occasion  existed  for  such  ap- 
prehension, recommended  the  presbyteries  to  take 
special  pains  toward  securing  a  wider  circulation  of 
the  Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Form  of  Government. 
It  also  declared  against  all  desecration  of  the  Sabbath, 
specifying-  certain  varieties  of  such  desecration  ;  com- 
mended daily  reading  of  the  Scriptures  as  a  personal 
and  domestic  duty :  and  designated  the  first  Monday 
in  January  as  a  day  of  special  prayer  for  the  revival 
of  true  and  undefiled  religion  throughout  Christendom. 

Considerable  routine  business  was  transacted  by 
the  Assembly,  —  chiefiy  the  erection  of  a  new  synod 
of  Pennsylvania,  the  preparation  of  a  Digest,  the 
choice  of  delegates  and  the  sending  of  official  letters 


90  GHXHSIS  AXn   El'DIA'TIOM . 

to  other  ecclesiastical  bodies.  Its  most  important 
action  was  the  preparation  and  adoi)tion  of  a  Narrative 
of  the  State  of  Religion,  and  of  a  Pastoral  Letter, 
drafted  by  a  committee  of  which  the  venerable  Lyman 
Beecher*  was  chairman,  for  distribntion  among  the 
churches.  Each  of  these  documents  deserves  special 
attention,  as  illustrative  of  the  existing  situation. 

The  Xarrative  spoke  at  length  of  the  order  and 
discipline,  the  orthodoxv  and  liberality  of  the  churches, 
defending  them  warndy  against  the  charge  of  doctrinal 
looseness,  and  claiming  for  them  as  great  a  measure 
of  loyalty  and  devotion  as  existed  in  any  section  of  the 
Pres])\terian  Church.  It  dwelt  especially  on  the 
revivals  of  religion  enjoyed  during  the  year,  notwith- 
standing the  prevalent  ecclesiastical  agitation, —  such 
revivals  having  occurred  in  no  less  than  two  hundred 
and  thirtv-four  churches  within  the  limits  of  the 
disowned  synods,  the  presliytery  of  Philadelphia  dis- 
banded bv  the  last  Assembly,  and  other  sympathizing 
sections,  chiedv  in  Michigan,  ( )hio  and  Indiana.  Much 
interest  was  reported  in  the  spiritual  training  of  the 
young  both  in  the  home  and  in  the  Sabbath  school,  in 
catechetical  instruction,  in  tract  distribution,  in  the 
cause  of  temperance  and  the  Sabbath,  and  in  missions 
at  home  and  al)road.  The  three  theological  seminaries, 
l^nion  and  .•\uburn  and  Lane,  all  affiliating  doctrinally 


*  Lyman  Beechek.  D.  D..  Iwrn,  Oct.  12.  1775;  Yale,  1797; 
pastor  East  Hampton,  L.  I.,  1799-1810;  Litchfield,  Conn.,  1810- 
•2<i ;  Boston.  182()-32  ;  President  and  Professor  of  Syst.  Theol. 
in  Lane  Theol.  Sem.,  1882-50;  died  Jan.  10.  1808.  D.  D.,  Mid- 
dlebnry.  1818.  .Author  of  Works,  three  vols. ;  including  Six 
Sermons  on  lutcnipcrancc,  other  Discourses,  and  Views  of 
Theology. 


A    r.lSrOh'.U.    LI-.TTI-.R.  91 

with  the  lU'w  (Iciioniination.  were  corcUalK'  coinmeiKled 
as  fountains  of  sound  erudition  and  nurseries  of  sacred 
enterprise.  (  )n  the  other  liand.  while  the  general  out- 
look was  said  to  he  in  an  extraordinary  degree  hopeful, 
certain  inaus])icious  events  and  tendencies,  chieflv  those 
springing  from  the  l)isru])tion.  were  discussed  at 
length  and  their  existence  lamented. 

The  Pastoral  Letter  contained  a  more  detailed 
account  of  the  ecclesiastical  conHict  in  its  various 
as])ects  and  general  character,  with  an  earnest  jus- 
tificati(Mi  of  the  course  which  the  Assemhlv  had  been 
constrained  in  the  exigenc\  to  pursue.  While  dis- 
claiming any  desire  to  condemn  the  motives  of  the 
party  that  effected  the  disruption,  it  set  forth  vividly 
the  evils  conse(|uent.  —  the  violation  of  the  rights  of 
conscience  and  of  free  thought,  the  checking  of  reli- 
gious life  and  activity,  the  sundering  of  old  freindships. 
the  rupture  of  churches,  the  exposure  of  property 
interests  to  vexatious  litigation,  and  other  related  evils. 
Meanwhile  the  churches  were  strongly  exhorted  to 
adhere  to  the  voluntary  agencies  in  evangelistic  elTort, 
—  specially  to  continue  their  contributions  to  missions 
home  and  foreign,  and  to  the  cause  of  Christian  edu- 
cation. They  were  also  exhorted  to  cultivate  the 
tem])er  of  charity  toward  those  b\  whom  the\-  had  been 
wronged  in  the  excision.  —  to  lay  hold  of  their  specific 
work  with  unabated  zeal. —  and  especially  to  be  much 
in  prater  for  the  jiresence  and  powerful  manifestation 
of  the  Holy  S])irit  in  the  particular  churches  and  in  the 
general  coimsels  of  the  )-oung  denomination.  And  in 
view  of  the  charge  of  the  lack  of  orthodoxy  the  Letter. 
in  languagi'  wliich  easilv  sutriTcsts  the  fervid  mind  of 


9-J  GEXESIS   AXD   EVOLUTIOX. 

its  author,  while  declaring  that  the  Confession  of  h'aith 
is  not  the  Bible  nor  a  substitute  for  the  Bible,  yet 
describes  it  as  an  illustrious  monument  of  the  inde- 
pendent investigation  of  the  most  gifted  minds,  and 
adds  these  pregnant  words : 

We  love  and  honor  the  Confession  of  Faith  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  as  containing  more  well- 
defined,  fundamental  truth,  with  less  defect,  than  ap- 
pertains to  any  other  human  formula  of  doctrine,  and 
as  calculated  to  hold  in  intelligent  concord  a  greater 
number  of  sanctified  minds  than  any  which  could  now 
be  framed ;  and  we  disclaim  all  design  past,  present 
or  future  to  change  it. 

Such  were  the  opinions,  spirit,  purposes,  acts  of 
the  General  Assembly  which  came  into  existence  in 
1838  through  the  Disruption,  and  which  by  what  it 
wrought  gave  at  once  form,  tone,  vigor,  to  the  nascent 
denomination.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  what 
transpired  in  its  organization,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  subsequent  course  of  the  Assembly  was  on  one  side 
judicious  and  in  the  main  conciliatory,  —  on  another 
side  firm,  vigorous,  inspiring.  With  its  adjournment 
after  ten  days  of  earnest  conference,  and  the  return  of 
its  members  to  their  homes,  the  parts  and  sections  of 
the  new  organism  began  at  once  to  draw  together,  a 
fresh  throb  of  conscious  unity  soon  was  everywhere 
pulsating;  and  a  process  of  growth  and  extension, 
far  beyond  what  had  been  anticipated  ere  long  revealed 
itself.  During  the  subsequent  autumn  two  new  synods 
were  organized  in  New  York  through  the  division  of 
the  synods  existing;  one  in  New  Jersey,  subsequently 
combined   with   that   of   New   York ;  one  in    \"irginia, 


.■/.V.S7:.l //)'/.)"   ()/•■   is:5!i.  03 

inchulinj;-  the  District  of  (.'olunihia;  two  in  (  )hi(),  and 
one  in  each  of  the  Slates  of  liuHana.  Michio;an  and 
Illinois,  and  one  in  eastern  Teniiessee.  The  list  of 
preshvteries  was  cdrrespondiiigly  increased,  and  the 
roll  of  niemhershi])  mrew  in  like  proportion.  Instead 
of  dvini^  ont  as  had  heen  predicted,*  the  movement 
developed  rai)idl\-  in  l)oth  area  and  momentnm.  and  it 
soon  became  manifest  to  careful  observers  that  out  of 
the  unhappy  rupture  a  new  denomination  was  risin,c; 
whose  spirit  and  resources  were  such  as  to  insure  to  it 
not  onlv  continued  existence,  but  also  healthful  growth 
and  an  im]:)ortant  sphere  of  influence  in  the  land. 

The  Assembly  of  1839  was  convened  accordini^  to 
appointment  in  the  historic  First  Church  of  Philadel- 
phia. Xo  less  than  fifteen  synods  and  seventy-two 
presbyteries,  comprising  1 181  ministers,  1286  churches, 
and  a  membership  of  more  than  100,000,  were  repre- 
sented in  it.  liaxter  Dickinson,  1).  D..*  of  the  pres- 
bvtery  of  Cincinr.ati.  the  chief  author  of  the  Auburn 
Declarati(tn  and  one  of  the  leadinc^  actors  in  the  organ- 
ization from  the  beginning,  was  chosen  Moderator. 
Among  those  'present  were  Samuel  Fisher,  the  first 
Moderator,  and  Erskine  Mason,  stated  clerk,  D:  .  Cox 


*  The  Assembly  of  1887  comprised  "23  synods.  135  presby- 
teries. "2140  ministers,  "iSriri  churches  and  2"20,557  members. 
How  great  the  loss  had  been  through  the  disruption  is  revealed 
l)y  the  fact  that  in  183!t  the  synods  liad  fallen  from  23  to  17, 
the  presbyteries  from  13')  to  9(i.  the  ministers  from  2140  to 
1243.  the  churches  from  28(ir)  to  1823.  and  the  members  from 
22<i..'")."»7  to  12s. (143  The  loss  of  men  of  ability  and  character 
who  had  held  high  rank  in  the  Church,  was  even  greater  in 
proportion. 


94  GHXESIS   AXD   ElX)LUT[ON. 

and  Williston  and  Duffield  and  (iill)ort  and  Hill,  Wil- 
liam W'isner  and  josiah  Hopkins  and  John  Rankin, 
Jndd  and  Wing  and  (iale.  and  Professor  Calvin  E. 
Stone,  together  with  many  valuable  and  influential 
elders.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  various  matters 
of  routine,  such  as  the  constituting  of  subordinate 
bodies,  the  electing  delegates,  and  the  adjustment  of 
other  like  affairs,  were  transacted  with  unanimity  and 
dispatch,  and  that  an  earnest  and  prayerful  temper 
w^as  manifest  throughout  the  deliberations. 

One  of  the  most  important  subjects  of  considera- 
tion was  the  report  of  the  special  committee  appointed 
in  the  previous  year  to  have  charge  of  all  pecuniary 
interests  and  all  legal  questions  involved  in  the  Dis- 
ruption. The  committee  had  instituted  a  suit  quo 
warranto,  not  yet  settled,  in  order  to  test  in  law  the 
validity  of  the  title  to  certain  church  properties,  and 
also  the  validity  of  the  act  of  1837,  by  which  the  young 
denomination  had  been  cut  off  from  the  benefits  of 
its  just  share  in  these  properties.  The  committee 
also  reported  a  detailed  Plan  of  Division,  afterwards 
approved  by  the  Assembly,  for  the  peaceable  separa- 
tion of  the  two  Churches,  including  a  fair  division 
of  all  church  funds,  a  just  distribution  of  immu- 
nities and  privileges,  the  right  of  ministers  and 
churches  to  make  their  own  election  between  the  two 
denominations,    and    the    amicable    adjustment    of    all 


*  B.WTER  Dickinson,  D.  D.,  born  .Apr.  14,  1795;  Yale, 
1817 :  pastor  Longmcadow.  Mass..  lS-2;-5-2it :  Newark.  N.  J., 
1829-35;  Prof,  of  Sacred  Rhetoric.  Lane  Sem..  1835-39  also, 
in  Auburn  Sem..  1839-47.  Secretary.  Boston,  1850-59;  died. 
Brooklyn.  N.  Y..  Dec.  7.  1875.     D.  D.  .\mberst.  1838. 


J    l-Oh'M.ll.    PiiCL.lN.ITlOX.  95 

other  (.lifticultics  on  tlic  l)asis  of  entire  e(iiiality  and  in 
the  interest  of  permanent  peaee  in  the  future.  It  be- 
ing- ascertained  that  this  I'lan  would  not  l^e  accepted, 
the  Assembly  adopted  a  formal  Declaration,  in  which 
the  history  of  the  division  was  recited,  the  i)ositit)n 
and  purpose  of  the  new  Church  were  defined,  and  a 
solemn  appeal  was  made  to  the  Christian  world  touch- 
mv:  the  justice  of  its  cause. 

In  connection  with  the  ])ublic  Declaration,  a  lenothy 
and  elaborate  Pastoral  Letter  was  sent  to  all  the 
churches  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Assembly,  in 
which  the  whole  matter  of  the  separation  was  aoain 
detailed,  the  charge  of  schism  w'as  resented,  the  need 
of  faithful  adherence  to  the  principles  at  stake  was 
urged,  fellowship  and  unity  were  commended,  and  the 
churches  w^ere  enjoined  and  encouraged  to  go  on  with 
utniost  energy  in  the  great  work  divinely  set  before 
them.  The  Narrative  of  the  State  of  Religion  also 
issued  is  an  interesting  illustration  and  proof  of  the 
practical  realization  of  what  was  thus  suggested,  and 
also  an  impressive  evidence  of  divine  favor,  and  of  the 
reviving  and  edifying  energy  of  the  Spirit  of  God  even 
in  the  midst  of  difficult}-  and  trial.  In  conjunction 
with  these  documentary  appeals,  the  Assembly  itself 
paused  in  its  business  and  s])ent  a  session  in  special 
prayer,  with  fasting,  that  it  might  be  divinely  guided 
and  God  might  be  glorified  through  the  prospering  of 
Zion. 

In  addition  to  an  annoying  case  of  discipline, 
which  was  continued  at  intervals  through  five  succes- 
sive days  and  engrossed  far  too  much  attention,  no 
very  important  j^rinciple  being  involved.  —  the  first  in 


96  GEXESIS  AXn   I-I'OLL'TION. 

a  sad  succession  of  like  cases,  —  two  ])articular  mat- 
ters occupied  perhaps  too  lar^-ely  the  time  and  thouo:ht 
of  the  body.  One  of  these  was  the  use  of  abbreviated 
creeds,  short  summaries  of  faith,  in  some  of  the 
churches,  especially  in  connection  with  admission  to 
membership.  The  committee  appointed  by  the  pre- 
vious Assembly  made  a"-  full  report,  showing  that  such 
creeds  or  summaries,  as  actually  in  use  within  twenty- 
five  of  the  presbyteries  where  unsoundness  in  doctrine 
was  supposed  to  prevail,  were  found  on  examination 
to  be  to  a  g-ratifying  extent  orthodox  on  all  the 
essential  points  of  Calvinism.  —  The  other  matter  was 
domestic  slavery,  with  the  responsibilit\-  and  duty  of 
the  Church  respecting  it.  Overtures  on  this  subject 
were  sent  in  bv  various  presbyteries,  and  an  exces- 
sive amount  of  time  was  spent  in  somewhat  heated 
discussions.  —  followed  finally  by  the  a(l()])tion  of  a 
resolution,  referring  the  whole  matter  to  the  lower 
judicatories,  to  take  such  action  as  they  should  deem 
most  judicious,  and  best  adapted  to  remove  or  limit 
the  evil. 

Overtures  were  adoi)ted  to  be  sent  down  to  the 
presbyteries,  proposing  that  hereafter  the  synods  be 
made  the  courts  of  final  appeal  and  jurisdiction  in  all 
cases  of  discipline,  —  that  the  Assembly  should  be  re- 
garded simplv  as  an  advisory  counsel  in  all  church 
administration,  —  and  that  its  sessions  should  hence- 
forth be  held  triennially  instead  of  annually,  mean- 
while retaining  its  place  and  power  as  the  supreme 
judicatory  of  tlie  Church.  And  then,  with  the  trans- 
action of  some  minor  business,  the  Assembly  after 
eleven  davs  of  deliberation  was  adjourned. 


.■ISSIiMHI.y  OF  lS4(t.  07 

The  history  of  the  several  Asseml)hes  (hiring:  this 
period  of  jrenesis  and  evohition  is  here  ])resented  som- 
wliat  in  detail  for  the  reason  that  it  fnrnislies  so  dis- 
tinct a  photograph  or  transcri])t  of  the  historv  of  the 
Church  itself.  The  Assemhly  of  1840,  as  it  convened, 
had  special  occasion  to  rejoice  in  the  encouraq-ino" 
i^rowth  of  the  denomination  during-  the  ])recedin<;-  vear, 
as  shown  in 'the  increase  of  its  preshyteries  from  75  to 
8c).  of  its  ministers  from  1181  to  1260.  of  its  churches 
from  1286  to  1375.  with  correspondent  enlarj^ement  of 
its  memhership  and  its  territory  which  now  included 
eiq^ht  States  in  addition  to  the  two  in  which  the  orio^- 
inal  synods  were  located.  The  org^anization  was  thus 
almost  as  laro:e  already  as  the  other  Church  which  re- 
ported for  the  same  year  95  i)resbyteries.  1615  minis- 
ters. 1673  churches,  and  a  memhership  of  126,583. 

There  were  indeed  some  churches  and  ministers, 
orij^inally  counted,  that  had  either  returned  to  their 
former  connection  or  g[one  elsewhere,  hut  man\-  more 
had  made  the  o])])osite  exchano^e.  es]:ieciall\-  in  the 
territory  more  remote.  The  revivals  enjoved  during^ 
the  year  had  done  much  not  only  to  increase  the  mem- 
hership. hut  also  to  inspire  hope,  coura.c^e.  zeal  in  all 
hearts.  The  vexing-  and  fruitless  claim  to  the  prop- 
erties and  privileg-es  vested  in  the  parent  Church  had 
been  yielded,  not  because  it  was  re.g^arded  as  unwar- 
ranted, but  because  it  was  felt  to  be  useless  to  prolong 
a  struggle  so  ])ainful.  The  minor  strifes  and  litigations 
within  particular  ])resbyteries  and  congregations  had 
now  measurably  ceased.  The  separation  was  seen  to 
be  a  permanent  fact:  and  the  conviction  that  the  nas- 
^  cent  Church  must  live  in  and  l)v  itself,  if  it  lived  at  all. 


98  GEXESIS  AMD    EVOLUTION. 

had  become  not  only  a  fixed  conclusion,  but  also  a 
stimulus  to  consecration  and  activity  such  as  nothing 
less  than  such  an  emergency  could  have  secured.  The 
awakening  sense  of  a  valuable  opportunity  to  be 
grasped,  of  a  providential  mission  to  fulfil,  of  a  large 
and  noble  destiny  possible,  was  felt  by  all  as  an  elec- 
tric inspiration.  And  the  Assembly,  meeting  under 
such  conditions,  was  quite  ready  in  temper  to  welcome 
the  strong  doctrine  of  the  opening  sermon  touching 
the  Spirit  poured  out  from  on  high,  and  the  wilderness 
becoming  under  his  gracious  influence  a  fruitful  field 
—  such  as  Isaiah  saw  in  sacred  vision. 

The  attendance  was  not  so  large  as  had  been  an- 
ticipated, many  of  the  presbyteries  in  the  farther  west 
and  south  being  unrepresented.  While  the  absence  of 
some  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  earlier  organi- 
zation was  felt,  the  Ijody  was  not  lacking  in  wise  and 
safe  leaders.  —  notably  the  Moderator,  the  venerable 
William  Wisner,  D.  D.,*  one  of  the  honored  pastors 
and  fathers  of  the  Church,  the  veterans  Cox  and  Dick- 
inson and  Hill.  Drs.  DeWitt  and  Riddle  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Kirk  and  I'arker  and  Mills  and  other  men  of 
like  value.  The  sessions  were  comparatively  brief,  and 
the  business  was  concluded  within  nine  days. 

Favorable  responses  having  been  received  from 
the  presbyteries  it  was  ordained,  in  accordance  with 
the  overtures  transmitted   to   them,   that   the   r:itio  of 


*  William  Wisner.  D.  D.,  born  Warrick,  N.  Y.,  April  18, 
1772 ;  admitted  to  practice  law,  1805 ;  studied  theology  pri- 
vately. Pastor  for  two  long  periods  in  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  also 
pastor  in  Rochester  and  St.  Louis.  Died  in  Ithaca,  Jan.  7, 
1871.  D.  D.,  Delaware  Coll.  Father  of  Win.  C.  Wisner,  D. 
D..  Moderator,  1855. 


CHAXGliS    IX    rOI.ITY.  99 

representation  in  the  Assembly  should  he  one  minister 
and  one  elder  from  each  preshytery  whatever  its  mem- 
bershi]"),  with  the  recommendation  that  no  presbytery 
should  contain  more  than  twenty-tour  ministers,  and 
on  the  other  hand  that  none  should  he  so  small  as  to  be 
incapable  of  discharj^inj^i"  efficiently  its  constitutional 
functions.  it  was  furtlier  ordained  that  the  synods 
should  become  the  courts  of  final  resort  in  all  matters 
of  discipline,  and  should  come  to  be  —  as  was  said  — 
provincial  assemblies,  with  enlarged  responsibilities 
both  in  interpreting  church  law  and  in  acting  for  the 
welfare  and  edifying  of  the  denomination.  It  was  also 
ordained  that  the  Assemblly  should  meet  triennially 
instead  of  annually,  and  that  it  should  become  more 
fully  a  conciliar  and  spiritual  hotly  —  a  grave  aivl  holy 
convocation  (^f  the  Church,  as  was  said,  for  the  pro- 
motion of  the  interests  of  truth,  piety  and  benevolence. 
Among  the  motives  leading  to  these  constitutional 
changes,  some  undoubtedly  were  the  general  feeling 
awakened  b\-  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  several 
Assemblies  prior  to  the  Disruption,  the  natural  opposi- 
tion to  centralized  power,  the  preference  for  a  wider 
distribution  alike  of  responsibility  and  of  service,  and 
a  conviction  that  after  all  the  presbytery  is  the  true  unit 
and  primal  authority  in  the  Presbyterian  system.  It  is 
not  impossible  that  one  motive  may  have  been  to  re- 
move from  the  arena  of  the  Assembly  that  troublesome 
question  of  domestic  slavery  which  was  annually  forc- 
ing itself  into  notice  there,  and  was  even  then  threat- 
ening to  convulse  and  divide  the  Church.  In  fact,  that 
question  did  absorb  no  small  amount  of  time  and  excite 
no  small  degree  of  conflicting  feeling  in  the  Asstmblv, 


100  C/iXESlS   AM)   lil'OLUTIO.W. 

the  prolonged  discussions  finally  ending  in  an  indefi- 
nite postponement. 

It  was  natural  that  the  interest  of  the  hody  should 
still  be  centered  largely  in  the  Disruption  and  its  vari- 
ous issues.  The  chief  act  in  this  direction  was  the 
adopting  of  a  Declaration  of  Principles,  so  called,  in 
which  the  Assembly  once  more  expressed  its  estimate 
of  the  e.xcluding  Act.  and  again  defined  its  own  posi- 
tion and  claims  under  what  was  styled  the  historic, 
Constitution  of  .-American  Presl)yterianism.  The  De- 
claration  affirmed  that  this  Constitution  was  no  nullity 
liut  rather  a  grand  and  inyiolate  charter,  whose  ])ro- 
visions  and  rec|uirements  were  to  be  preserved  unsul- 
lied and  sacred  in  all  ecclesiastical  administration.  It 
affirmed  that  no  member  of  the  Church  should  l)e  de- 
prived of  his  constitutional  rights  and  privileges  thus 
guaranteed  except  by  fair  and  regular  process ;  that 
no  one  should  be  imjjeached.  discredited  ()r  disfran- 
chised by  private  judgment,  by  calumny  or  any  illicit 
form  of  procedure;  and  that  all  members,  officers, 
judicatories  of  the  Church  should  always  hold  them- 
selves under  most  solemn  obligation  to  act  in  every 
case  in  accordance  with  these  fundamental  i)rinciples>. 
In  the  light  of  all  that  had  trans])ired  during  the  three 
or  four  years  preceding,  the  force  of  this  vigorous 
l')eclaration  can  be  easily  understood,  and  its  passion 
may  be  easily  condoned. 

The  general-temper  of  the  .Assembly  appears  in  its 
action  res])ectin'^  some  other  matters  of  interest.  A 
troublesome  judicial  case,  involving  chiefly  the  rulings 
of  certain  lower  judicatories,  claimed  too  large  an 
amount  of  time  and  attention.     In  yiew  of  the  unusual 


coxf^Tiox  or  TUP.  CHURCH.  loi 

prevalence  of  (Irunkenness  with  its  kindred  vices,  a 
strong^  resolution  was  passed  in  favor  of  temperance. 
The  prevalence  of  Sabbath  desecration  led  to  like 
action  on  that  subject  —  pastors  being:  counselled  to 
preach  respectin*^  it.  esj^ecially  on  the  Sunday  pre- 
ceding- the  h'ourth  of  July.  The  Assembly  declared 
itself,  even  more  fully  than  its  predecessors  had  done, 
in  favor  of  the  voluntary  societies  organized  in  the 
interest  of  home  and  foreign  missions,  ministerial 
education,  tract  distribution  and  Sunday  school  work, 
and  made  an  earnest  apjjeal  for  enlarged  liberality  in 
all  departments  of  religious  enterprise. 

The  general  condition  of  the  young  Church  is 
graphicallv  sketched  in  the  Narrative  of  Religion 
adopted  by  the  Assembly.  On  one  hand  the  Narra- 
tive describes  the  difficulties  and  discouragements 
manifest.  —  external,  in  the  general  state  of  the  coun- 
try, the  commercial  depression  current,  the  spread  of 
vices,  the  indifference  of  the  multitude  to  spiritual 
things.  —  internal,  in  the  coldness  and  inaction  of  many 
among  professed  l)elievers.  the  temper  of  worldliness 
prevalent,  the  contentious  sectarianism,  and  specifically 
the  measure  of  controversy  still  manifest  between 
those  who  once  were  brethren  within  the  one  Church. 
C^n  the  other  hand  it  dwells  with  enthusiasm  on  some 
evidences  of  outward  j^rosperity  in  the  churches,  the' 
organizing  of  new  congregations  especially  on  the 
frontiers,  and  the  strengthening  and  increase  of  many 
of  the  older  congregations.  Tt  emphasizes  even  more 
joyously  the  signs  of  spiritual  advance,  the  numerous 
revivals  adding  from  12,000  to  15,000  meml)ers  on 
profession   of  faith,   and   the   growing  sense  of   unity 


102  GENESIS  JND   El'OLUTJOX. 

within  the  Churcli.  It  exhorts  to  increased  confidence 
in  the  Gospel  and  in  the  stated  ministrations  of  the 
Word,  to  the  cuhure  of  greater  stal-)iHty  in  church 
life,  and  the  cultivation  of  deeper  interest  in  mission 
work  esjiecially  in  the  far  West.  And  the  Narrative 
closes  with  these  earnest  words :  Finally,  we  recom- 
mend seasons  of  special  private  and  social  thanksgiving 
to  God  for  the  spiritual  mercies  of  the  ecclesiastical 
year  which  has  just  closed.  It  was  begun  in  darkness 
and  fear,  in  fastings  and  tears  and  supplications.  It 
has  closed  in  triumphs  and  joys  which  have  brought 
heaven  and  earth  to  mingle  in  holv  sympathy. 

Three  years  elapsed  before  another  Assembly  was 
convened,  and  the  history  of  the  Church  during  this 
period  can  be  gathered  only  from  occasional  and  some- 
what scant  indications.  The  organization  still  labored 
under  the  opprobrium  which  had  fallen  upon  it,  or 
the  nucleus  of  it,  at  the  Disruption  —  still  encountered 
opposition,  sometimes  unfair  and  even  cruel,  from  the 
conservative  sources.  Moreover,  it  had  as  yet  neither 
churchly  machiner\-  nor  wealth  nor  much  other  help- 
ful resource  :  it  was  still  weak  in  various  ways.  Yet 
it  had  reason  for  encouragement  in  the  quieting  or 
elimination  of  undesirable  elements  and  tendencies,  in 
the  developing  spirit  of  unitv.  in  the  increasing  con- 
sciousness of  responsibilitv  and  of  progress,  and  in  its 
rapidly  widening  area.  There  had  also  been  an  actual 
increase,  though  slight,  in  the  number  of  synods  and 
presbyteries,  ministers  and  churches,  and  a  somewhat 
larger  growth  in  membership.  Added  to  all  this  was 
the  cheering  fact,  that  the  sym]Xithy  and  aid  of  various 


,!SS/-.MBI.)-   ()!■    1S4;V  103 

other  cvan.m'lioal  Cdiiinninions  wuc-  freely  manifested 
in  its  interest. 

The  AssemhK-  of  1S43  met.  as  its  predecessors  had 
(lone,  in  the  I'irst  Church  of  1 'hiladelphia  of  which 
Alhert  luirnes  was  the  loved  and  honored  pastor.  The 
attendance  was  large,  and  amon.ij  the  commissioners 
were  man\-  cons])icnouslv  earnest  and  active  men,  from 
hoth  the  East  and  heyond  the  Allei^henies.  Still  it  is 
ohvious  that  the  chano^e  from  an  annual  to  a  triennial 
convocation,  to^^ether  with  the  lar_t;"e  transfer  of  juris- 
diction to  the  synods  —  a  change  which  was  later  on 
to  reveal  more  fully  its  injurious  quality  —  detracted 
somewhat  from  l)oth  the  number  and  the  weight  of 
the  asseml)le(!  ])od\'.  The  Moderator  chosen  was  An- 
sel R.  Eddy.  1).  IX,*  and  the  hu?iness  in  hand  went 
forward  nrom])tly,  the  sessions  closing  on  the  tenth 
day.  It  is  needful  to  refer  here  to  only  a  few  items 
of  special  interest. 

The  general  disjxisition  of  the  Assembly  is  indi- 
cated by  its  action  respecting  the  observance  of  the 
Sabl)ath,  resjiecting  promiscuous  dancing  as  incon- 
sistent with  Christian  ])roprietv.  respecting  benevolent 
collections  for  religions  uses,  respecting  days  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer  for  special  objects,  respecting  its  own 
religious  exercises  dail\-  and  a  solemn  communion  ser- 
vice. The  approaching  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
convening  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  was  recog- 
nized by  a])pro]:)riate  ])reamble  and  resolution.     .\s  to 


*  Ansel  R.  Eddv.  I).  L).,  horn.  17!l!»;  grad.  Union  Coll., 
1817;  Andover  Sem..  1822;  pastor,  Canaiulaigua,  N.  Y.,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  Chicago,  Ills.  Agent  .\.  and  F.  Christ.  Union. 
Died  Lausinglnirgh.  N.  ^'.,  Feb.  7,   187."). 


104  GEMESIS  AND  EVOLUTION. 

slavery  a  strenuous  discussion  was  carried  on  day  after 
day,  with  various  propositions  and  some  bitterness  of 
feeling^,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  important  matters, 
and  with  some  harm  to  the  unity  of  the  body,  —  the 
whole  ending  in  a  resolution  adopted,  not  without  dis- 
sent and  protest,  declaring  it  inexpedient  to  take  pres- 
ent action.  A  judicial  issue,  involving  the  suspension 
of  a  minister,  and  revealing  some  irregularity  in  dis- 
cipline, added  to  the  excitement  of  the  body,  and  was 
finally  referred  to  the  synod  implicated  for  review 
and  correction  —  a  considerable  minority  protesting 
against  the  decision. 

The  special  committee  which  had  been  charged  by 
the  preceding  Assembly  with  the  oversight  of  the 
pecuniary  interests  and  claims  of  the  Church  involved 
in  the  Disruption  reported  that  the  quo  warranto  suit 
had  been  abandoned,  and  the  Assembly  approved  its 
action,  but  with  a  declaration  that  this  step  must  not 
be  regarded  as  waiving  or  extinguishing  its  legal  and 
equitable  rights  in  the  properties  of  the  parent  Church. 
In  the  same  temper  it  was  resolved  to  forego  the  elec- 
tion of  trustees  or  directors  to  look  after  these  ancestral 
interests  —  these  valuable  heritages.  An  important 
resolution  was  also  adopted  in  this  connection,  express- 
ing gratification  at  some  evidences  of  increase  in  the 
measure  of  kindness  and  courtesy  shown  by  the  other 
Church,  and  counselling  all  ministers  and  churches  to 
cultivate  a  responsive  measure  of  brotherly  love  toward 
that  body. 

The  Narrative  of  the  State  of  Religion  is  the 
most  distinctive  evidence  now  attainable  as  to  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  Church  at  that  juncture.     It 


ENCOURAGIXG  rROSPECTS.  105 

records  with  devout  gratitude  to  (iod  tlu-  rcniark.iljU- 
series  of  revivals  which  had  licen  enjoyed  bi)th  in  the 
Atlantic  sections  of  the  Church,  and  equally  in  the 
central  West  wherever  the  standard  of  the  denomina- 
tion had  been  planted.  It  refers  to  the  rapid  develop- 
ment in  the  farther  West,  instancing  especially  one  of 
the  frontier  States  where  a  few  years  earlier  there 
was  not  a  single  presbytery,  but  where  now  there 
were  no  less  than  five  presbyteries,  united  in  one  strong 
synod.  It  speaks  of  increasing  interest  in  the  study 
and  the  distribution  of  the  I'.ible,  in  the  cause  of 
temperance  and  the  Sabbath,  and  in  Christian  benevo- 
lence and  activity  :  also  hi  greater  permanence  in  the 
pastoral  office,  and  the  increasing  confidence  shown  in 
the  outcome  of  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  Word 
publicly  and  from  house  to  house.  In  this  connection 
it  commends  the  three  theological  seminaries  as  fur- 
nishing many  faithful  young  men  for  the  ministry, 
and  urges  the  duty  of  pressing  on  the  continental  work 
of  home  missions  with  fidelity  and  vigor.  All  in  all. 
the  condition  and  prospects  of  the  young  Church  were 
said  to  be  such  as  would  justifv  enlarged  confidence 
and  the  broadest  expectations  for  the  future. 

The  remaining  vears  of  the  first  |)eriod  in  the  life 
of  the  young  Church,  extending  to  and  including  1849, 
may  be  sufficiently  described  with  smaller  detail.  The 
process  of  evolution  went  on  steadily,  and  with  less  of 
outward  opposition  or  of  interior  agitation,  except  in 
one  or  two  directions,  as  the  vears  advanced.  When 
the  Assembly  of  1846  met  in  the  usual  ])lace.  it  chose 
as    Moderator   a   gifted   and    brilliant    man.    who   had 


106  GENESIS  AXn   El'OLUTION. 

shared  conspicuously  in  tlie  movement  from  the  he- 
ijinnino^,  Samuel  H.  Cox,  D.  Y).r  and  entered  with 
some  enthusiasm  on  the  dischar^s^e  of  its  proper  ecclesi- 
astical functions.  lUit  its  proceeiiui^s  were  soon  dis- 
turbed by  the  incursion  on  the  second  day  of  memorials 
from  nearly  thirty  presbyteries  and  four  synods  touch- 
ing the  subject  of  slavery  and  specially  the  relations 
of  the  Church  to  tliat  enormous  evil.  A  discussion 
folknved,  largely  to  the  exclusion  of  other  matters, 
which  was  continued  for  eight  consecutive  days, —  the 
roll  being  called,  and  each  commissioner  given  oppor- 
tunity to  express  his  judgment.  Wide  variety  of  opin- 
ion was  developed,  involving  much  excitement  and  no 
small  strain  ui)on  the  brotherliness  of  the  body,  and 
injuriouslv  ]:)r(jtracting  its  sessions.  The  discussion 
was  finally  closed  by  the  adoption,  not  without  a  large 
negative  vote  followed  by  two  or  three  protests,  of 
a  formal  Declaration,  which  en  one  side  referred  the 
whole  matter  of  discipline  for  slaveholding  to  the 
minor  judicatories  to  which  it  properly  belonged,  but 
deplored  on  the  other  hand  the  existence  of  the  msti- 
tution  of  slavery,  endorsed  the  condemnatory  action  of 
previous  .\ssemblies  from  1787  to  1818,  exhorted  all 
who  might  be  imjilicated  to  put  away  the  evil,  and 
meanwhile  counselled  all  others  tcj  abstain  irom  divis- 
ive or  disturbing  action.  But  this  was  not  the  end : 
eleven  vears  later  the  controversy  rent  the  Church  in 
twain. 


*  Samuel  H.-^nson  Cox,  D.  D.,  born  Aug.  25.  1798:  pastor, 
Mendham,  N.  J.,  1817-21;  New  York  City.  1821-84;  Prof,  of 
Pa.storal  Theoi.  Auburn  Sem.,  1884-7 ;  pastor,  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y ,  1837-54.  President  of  Ingham  Univ.  Died.  Bronxville, 
N.  Y.,  Oct.  2.  188(1.  D.  D.  Williams,  1828;  LL.  D.,  Marietta, 
1835. 


I 
FRATliRXAI.  RRLATIOSS.  107 

Special  interest  was  nianit'c'sr'd  in  the  matter  of 
fellowship  with  other  reli^inns  hodics.  Delejj^ates 
from  such  hodies.  inchulin,!:;^  the  ( Itrnian  Reformed  and 
the  l^vanijelical  Lutheran  Churelu-s,  were  welcomed: 
steps  were  taken  toward  wide  recijjrocal  correspond- 
ence, emhracin^  not  onlv  .American  denominations,  but 
also  the  Congreg'aticinal  I'nion  or  I'.niiiand  and  Wales 
and  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  The  ICvangelical 
Alliance  was  heartily  endorsed  and  its  approaching 
convocation  in  London  was  anticii>ated  with  hojio  and 
exultation  as  a  step  toward  union  throughout  Christ- 
endom. A  special  committee  was  ap])ointed  for  con- 
ference with  the  Lumlx'rland  Presbyterian  Church, 
with  a  view  to  closer  fellowshi]).  if  not  to  organic 
union.  .\  fraternal  communication  was  addressed  to 
the  .\ssem])lv  of  the  (  ).  S.  Church,  tlien  in  session  in 
P'hiladelphia.  proposing  a  joint  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  —  a  proposal  which  was  kindly  but 
firmly  declined  on  the  ground  tliat  the  Assembly  as 
a  corporate  body  had  never  shared  heretofore  with  any 
other  like  organization  in  that  sacred  observance.  In 
view  of  the  existing  war  with  Mexico  and  of  prevail- 
ing rumors  of  war.  a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer 
was  appointed,  and  earnest  effort  in  the  pulpit  and 
elsewhere  was  recommended  in  the  interest  of  uni- 
versal peace. 

But  it -was  evident  that  the  inordinate  discussion 
respecting  slavery,  while  it  ])rolonge(l  the  sessions  of 
the  .Assembly  for  more  than  two  weeks,  had  crowded 
out  injuriously  other  subjects,  such  as  temperance,  the 
Sabbath,    psalmody,    doctrinal    literature,    which    were 


108  GHXESIS  AND  EVOLUTION. 

of  great  practical  moment  to  the  Church.  It  also  be- 
came evident  that  Assemblies,  meeting  but  once  in 
three  years,  could  never  give  adequate  consideration 
to  these  and  other  kindred  denominational  interests. 
It  was  also  realized  that  though  since  1843  there  had 
been  some  advance  in  the  roll  of  ministers  and  churches 
and  membership,  as  the  statistics  showed,  the  Church 
had  sulTered  in  several  respects  in  consequence  of  so 
long  an  interim  of  fellow^ship  in  and  through  the 
Assembly.  It  was  therefore  resolved,  not  without 
serious  questionings  as  to  validity,  that  the  Assembly 
when  it  adjourned  should  meet  at  Cincinnati  in  the 
coming  year :  and  an  overture  was  sent  down  to  the 
presbyteries  ])roposing  a  return  to  annual  sessions 
and  a  restoration  of  appellate  power  to  the  Assembly. 
The  Narrative  of  Religion  w^as  then  read,  referring 
with  interest  to  the  Church  growth  as  real  though 
small,  and  lamenting  certain  hindrances  such  as  the 
spread  of  pernicious  literature,  the  rise  and  influence 
of  gross  forms  of  error,  and  especially  the  prevalence 
of  war  as  a  public  condition  alwaxs  unfavorable  to  the 
progress  and  ]X)wer  of  the  Ciospel  of  Peace.  And  the 
Assembly  then  adjourned. 

When  the  liod\-  met  again  in  1847  according  to 
adjournment,  the  attendance  from  both  the  east  and 
the  farther  west  was  found  to  be  but  small,  and  a 
shadow  seemed  in  view  of  the  recent  constitutional  rule 
to  rest  upon  the  convocation.  l>ut  the  constitutionality 
t)f  the  adjournment  was  afifirmed  l<y  an  elaborate  opin- 
\o\-\  from  Chancellor  Kent,  and  further  justified  by  the 
report  of  a  special  committee  aj)pointed  to  consider 
the  (juestion.      The  reasons  given   in  that   report  were 


.■i.\XL\iL  .iSSHMBI.UiS  rRI-.P liKRED.  109 

tliat  owinq-  to  the  ])r(itractc(l  discussions  rcsi)cctinij; 
slaver\'  hiisincss  of  iniportaiKT  Had  l)c'cn  wholly  set 
aside  or  unhnished.  —  that  the  ])laii  of  triennial  sess- 
ions had  left  the  Church  too  much  without  visihle 
unit\-  and  ade(|uate  su])ervision.  —  that  the  mission 
work  in  the  far  west  had  suffered  es])eciall\  for  the 
lack  of  such  care  as  the  AssenihK  alone  could  supply, 
—  that  the  education  of  the  ministr\.  the  uphuildinj^ 
of  other  church  interests,  the  extension  of  relis^ion  in 
the  land,  not  onl\-  justified  hut  (U'lnanded  amuial  sess- 
ions of  the  supreme  judicat(M-y.  The  Assenihly  ado]-.ted 
tliis  view,  and  accordins^h'  sent  down  to  the  presby- 
teries a  series  of  overtures  providini;"  tor  the  chan_s^e. 
Care  was  taken.  howe\er.  to  limit  the  transactions 
of  the  Assem])l\-  chietl\-  to  business  left  untinished  at 
Philadelphia  and  to  matters  of  ecclesistical  routine. 
The  onl\-  im])ortant  exception  related  to  the  work  of 
home  missions,  broui^ht  before  the  body  by  an  able 
Memorial  and  earnesth  discussed  in  several  interlocu- 
tor\-  sessions.  A  special  report  adopted  bv  the  As- 
sembly advocated  various  provisions  for  strena^thenin^ 
existins^  churches,  uri^ed  i^reater  care  bv  presliytcries 
for  destitute  po])ulations  both  native  and  foreign.  c(M1i- 
mended  jLjenerous  assistance  to  feeble  conjjregations 
in  erecting'  houses  of  worship,  and  counseled  dilii^ence 
in  seeking  out  voung'  men  of  piety  and  j^romise.  and 
training;  them  for  ministrations  on  the  frontier.  A 
committee  of  six  ministers  from  the  western  synods 
was  a])])ointed  to  consult  and  corres])ond  on  the  whole 
matter,  under  instruction  to  rej^c^rt  to  the  next  As- 
semblw  Here  one  reads  the  begintiings  of  that  process 
of  withdrawal  from  joint  action  with  undenominational 


110  GHXF.SIS   AXD   EfOLUTIOX. 

agencies  in  this  field,  which  was  to  end  finally  in  the 
assumption  hy  the  Church  of  an  independent  respon- 
sihilitv  in  all  home  missionary  work. 

The  (ieneral  Assemhly  whi'-h  was  convened  in 
Philadelphia  in  1849,  may  he  regarded  as  marking 
the  point  of  transition  from  the  first  to  the  second 
stage  in  the  life  of  the  denomination.  During  the 
earlier  years  the  Church  had  heen  coming  gradually 
into  a  distinct  consciousness  of  its  real  character  and 
position  as  an  independent  organization.  The  pro- 
cess of  aggregation  and  assimilation  had  been  going 
on,  not  without  external  difficulty  or  inward  embar- 
rassment, yet  steadily  and  safely.  Roth  the  doctrmal 
position  and  the  ecclesiastical  structure  had  by  de- 
grees become  clearly  defined.  The  geographical  area 
to  l)e  occupied  and  the  vast  work  possible  to  be  done 
were  also  somewhat  fully  manifest.  The  spirit  and 
the  purpose  were  now  well  matured,  but  the  organism 
was  as  yet  infantile,  and  the  methods  and  machineries 
requisite  to  efficiency  in  action  and  service  were  as 
yet  lacking.  Still  the  young  Church,  with  its  twenty 
synods  and  more  than  a  hundred  presbyteries,  located 
along  the  most  favorable  lines  in  no  less  than  twelve 
States,  was  now  ])repared  not  onlv  to  live  on,  but  to 
complete  its  organization,  perfect  its  methods  and 
system,  gather  up  its  resources,  and  proceed  in 
strength  and  hope  to  fulfill  its  providential  mission  in 
the  land. 

The  attendance  was  large,  all  sections  of  the  de- 
nomination being  well  represented,  and  among  the 
-commissioners  were  many  both  of  the  original  leaders 


JSSEMlil,)'   OF   184!).  Ill 

and  of  vounj^or  men  on  win  mi  the  task  of  Icadersliip 
was  to  fall  (luring  the  next  decaile.  The  orj^j^anrzation 
was  completed  hy  the  election  of  Thilip  C".  Hay,  1).  I).,* 
as  Moderator.  .\  majorit\  of  the  presbyteries  con- 
curring, the  proposed  change  from  triennial  to  annual 
Assemblies  was  agreed  upon,  and  steps  were  taken 
toward  the  resumption  of  api)ellate  power  and  an 
adjustment  of  the  ratio  of  representation.  Several 
changes  in  synodical  boundaries  were  arranged,  and 
provision  was  made  for  the  extension  of  church  lines, 
notably  in  the  erection  of  a  presb\  tery  in  distant  Cali- 
fornia. \  arious  questions,  such  as  a  term  service  in 
the  eldership,  the  establishment  of  a  theological  sem- 
inary in  the  northwest,  corresjxindence  with  other 
Churches,  exchange  of  delegates  with  the  Assembly 
().  S.  were  discussed.  Xineteen  memorials  touching 
slavery  were  received,  and  after  some  consideration 
the  troublesome  subject  was  disposed  of  for  the  time 
by  the  adoption  of  an  elaborate  report,  in  wdiich  the 
deliverances  of  preceding  Assenil)lies  were  cited  and 
reaffirmed,  the  main  principles  involved  were  forcibly 
stated,  and  the  inatter  dismissed  with  instructions  to 
the  subordinate  judicatories  to  exercise  kind  antl  salu- 
tary discipline  and  with  general  counsel  to  patience 
and  Christian   forbearance  an  all  sides. 

While  no  definite  advance  was  made  in  the  line  of 
denominational  assumption  of  the  work  of  home  mis- 
sions, the  resolutions  adopted  show  active  and  grow- 


*  Phillip  Courtlandt  Hay.  D.  D..  horn  in  Newark,  N.  J.. 
July  25,  1793;  grad.  Princeton  Coll.;  licensed  1820;  pastor 
in  Newark  eleven  years,  afterwards  in  Geneva  and  Oswego,  N. 
Y. ;    teacher  and  principal.     Died,  Dec.  27,  18(30. 


112  GE.XnSIS  AND   EI'OLVTION. 

ing  interest  in  the  work  itself  in  all  its  branches. 
This  is  partly  indicated  also  in  the  Narrative  adopted, 
which  indeed  acknowledges  the  presence  of  spiritual 
dearth  in  the  churches,  and  of  what  are  described  as 
extensive  defections,  but  points  cheerfully  to  occasional 
revivals  reported,  to  the  building  of  sanctuaries,  to  in- 
crease in  benevolence,  and  various  other  signs  of  life 
and  prospering.  The  Narrative  is.  however,  too  gen- 
eral and  too  diffuse  to  be  acccjJted  as  a  safe  index  to 
the  denominational  situation.  The  statistical  report 
indicates  a  slight  decline  in  both  churches  and  member- 
ship during  the  three  vears  reviewed  —  a  decline  which 
mav  be  exi)lained  partlv  by  the  extensive  defections 
so  far  as  there  were  such,  as  alleged  in  the  Narrative, 
toward  Congregational  fellowship  on  one  side  and  the 
( ).  S.  communion  on  the  other.  Close  examination 
shows  that,  while  the  denominational  growth  was  more 
ra])i(l  during  the  first  half,  there  was  still  a  healthful 
advance  in  all  j^articulars  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
period  which  has  here  l)een  passed  in  review. 

A  comparison  between  the  statistics  of  1839,  the 
first  full  year  in  the  life  of  the  young  Church,  and 
those  of  1849,  shows  an  increase  of  synods  from  15 
to  20.  of  presbyteries  from  85  to  104.  of  ministers 
from  1181  to  1453.  of  churches  from  1286  to  1555. 
and  of  membershi])  from  100,850  to  139,047.  The 
figures  in  the  first  series  are  probably  excessive,  many 
churches  and  ministers  being  counted  who  never  really 
cast  in  their  lot  with  the  excluded  party.  There  were 
also  man\-  internal  causes. —  differences  in  tempera- 
ment, training,  religious  associations,  theological  bias, 
locality    and    outward    conditions,  —  which    operated 


Riiiiiiw  or  run  DEC.mr.  113 

slroiii^lv  as^ainsl  the  rajjid  dcvchijimcnt  i)\  unity,  of 
mutual  affection,  vi  ahsorhini;  dcvoticm  to  the  common 
cause.  The  Church,  moreover,  was  saiHng  year  by 
year  between  the  deep  sea  of  Couf^^reg'ationalism  and 
the  ru^i^ed  cHffs  of  a  conservative  IVesbyterianism, 
and  was  at  every  moment  hable  lo  be  engulfed  by  the 
one  or  shattered  to  pieces  on  the  other.  All  things 
considered,  it  seems  remarkable  tliat  an  organization 
begun  as  this  was,  and  so  sorely  beset,  should  have 
survived  and  grown  as  it  did, —  survived  and  grown 
not  merely  through  human  ener_<,y  and  sacrifice  but, 
as  its  friends  believed,  because  the  divine  favor  rested 
benignantly  upon  it.  .\nd  imperfect  as  it  was  in  both 
experience  and  resource,  erring  occasionallv  in  both 
plan  and  tem])er.  far  from  being  what  it  ought,  the 
young  Church  must  be  said  to  have  exhibited  a  re- 
markable measure  of  vitality  and  power,  and  to  have 
justified  thus  early  the  belief  that  it  was  destined  yet 
to  do  a  good  and  great  work  for  Christ. 


CHAPTER  FOURTH. 

Organization  and  Advance. 
1850-1859. 

The  first  stage  or  era  in  the  Hfe  of  the  Church, 
with  all  the  conflicts  and  dififculties.  the  efforts  and 
sacrifices  involved,  had  now  been  safely  passed.  The 
hope  of  an  honorable  reconciliation  and  of  union  with 
the  Church  from  which  it  had  been  excluded  —  a  hope 
long  cherished  by  many  minds  and  still  lingering  in 
some,  was  now  seen  to  be  vain.  The  earlier  unwilling- 
ness to  set  forth  upon  an  absolutely  new  existence, 
with  all  the  trying  problems  involved,  had  now 
measurably  died  away.  The  sense  of  unity,  awakened 
at  first  bv  the  presence  of  common  dangers  and  com- 
mon trials,  had  now  developed  into  a  strong  and  lofty 
sentiment  of  union.  The  preliminary  questions  re- 
specting its  doctrinal  foundations,  its  ecclesiastical 
principles  and  policy,  its  right  to  exist,  its  providential 
sphere  and  mission,  had  for  the  most  part  been  an- 
swered. Its  relations  not  only  to  the  other  Church 
but  to  various  evangelical  denominations,  had  been 
sufficiently  determined.  In  the  short  space  of  eleven 
or  twelve  years,  but  as  a  span  in  the  career  of  most 
Churches,  a  remarkable  work  had  been  accomplished. 

Rut  the  decade  that  followed  was  to  witness  a  de- 
velopment still  more  remarkable. —  a  process  of  organ- 
ization such  as  would  thoroughly  fit  the  Church  with 
agencies  and  machineries  adequate  to  the  filling  of  its 
providential  s])here,  and  a  steadfast  progress  toward 
healthful,  vigorous  maturity.  In  fact,  the  work  of 
organization  had  been  already  begun,  not  indeed  with- 


run  oriixiw:  nncAim.  115 

out  nnich  discussion  of  ways,  methods,  agencies,  or  at 
times  without  some  ominous  cUfferences  in  judgment 
and  feehng.  yet  in  the  main  with  heartiness  and  with 
a  measure  of  genuine  success.  But.  as  will  appear  in 
the  i)rogress  of  the  history,  there  were  greater  and 
more  difificult  tasks  remaining.  Strong  as  the  Church 
already  was  in  its  convictions,  ardent  as  were  its  pur- 
poses and  as])irations,  a  completer  organization  an<l 
equipment  was  the  necessary  condition  to  permanent 
advance  —  to  fidl  maturity.  It  is  to  this  second  stage, 
therefore,  the  stage  of  organization  and  advance,  that 
attention  must  now  he  directed. 

One  illustration  of  the  geographic  development  of 
the  Church  appears  in  the  fact  that  the  Assemhly  of 
1850  met,  not  in  the  historic  church  in  Philadelphia 
where  it  came  into  heing  and  where  all  the  previous 
Assemblies  had  been  convened,  but  in  wliat  was  then 
the  somewhat  remote  city  of  Detroit.  All  of  the 
synods  except  that  of  Mississippi  whose  connection 
was  very  slight  and  was  entirely  terminated  a  few 
years  later,  were  represented  by  eighty-four  of  the  one 
hundred  and  two  presbyteries  on  the  roll,  —  coming  to 
the  convocation  from  no  less  than  twelve  States  lying 
mostly  within  those  parallels  of  latitude  along  which 
the  best  elements  in  our  national  civilization  had  tlowed 
in  their  westward  course.     David  H.  Riddle,  D.  D.,* 


*  David  Hunter  Riddle.  D.  D..  LL.  D.,  born  April  14. 
1805 ;  ordained.  1828 :  pastor  Winchester.  Va.,  1828-33 ;  Pitts- 
burgh. 1833-57 :  Jersey  City,  1857-62.  President,  Jefferson 
Coll.,  18(J2-5  ;  Profes.sor  in,  1865-8 ;  pastor  in  Canonsburg  and 
Martinsburg,  Pa..  1868-79;  died  at  Falls  Church,  Va..  July  16, 
1888. 


116  ORGANIZATIOM  AXU)  AOrAXCE. 

wlio  had  proved  himself  an  active  and  efficient  servant 
of  the  Church  as  well  as  an  honored  pastor,  was  made 
Moderator ;  and  the  ordinary  business  was  promptly 
transacted.  But  the  subject  of  slavery,  notwithstand- 
ing the  elaborate  action  of  the  preceding;  year,  brought 
on  an  exciting  and  uni)rofitable  discussion,  engrossing 
most  of  five  out  of  the  twelve  days  of  the  session  — 
a  sad  precursor  of  the  larger  conflict  and  estrangement 
that  were  to  follow. 

The  matter  of  fraternal  correspondence  and  the 
restoration  of  fellowship  with  the  O.  S.  Church  ex- 
cited earnest  and  prolonged  debate,  but  was  at  length 
indefinitely  postponed  with  a  formal  statement  of  the 
failure  of  previous  movements  toward  that  end,  an 
expression  of  regret  that  sucli  movements  had  hitherto 
l^roved  fruitless,  and  a  declaration  of  desire  to  establish 
close  fraternal  relations  whenever  such  a  step  should 
be  found  practicable.  Various  other  special  matters, 
such  as  provision  for  the  support  of  aged  ministers, 
publication  of  doctrinal  tracts,  the  correction  of  synod- 
ical  records,  were  acted  upon.  The  answers  to  the 
several  overtures  sent  down  to  the  presbvteries  by 
the  previous  Assembly  showed  that  the  proposed  alter- 
ations in  the  Constitution  as  to  the  limitations  of 
appeals  and  the  ratio  of  representatives  had  not  been 
approved  —  the  Constitution  therefore  remaining  un- 
altered. 

The  central  subject  of  Home  Missions  was  intro- 
duced by  a  sermon  from  the  Moderator  which  was  a 
forceful  delineation  and  defense  of  the  four  main  prin- 
ciples which  the  Church  was  set  specially  to  represent : 
^  first,    religious    liberty    in    contrast    with    ecclesiastical 


MISS  toy  or  riiii  cm'RCii.  in 

authority  ;  secDiul.  liviiii;'  Calvinism  in  contrast  with  a 
rigid  dogmatic  system  and  a  Hteral  subscription  ;  third, 
cooperative  activity  in  religious  work  in  contrast  with 
an  exclusive  ecclesiasticism  ;  fourth,  an  aggressive  in 
contrast  with  a  conservative  type  of  church  life.  It 
was  maintained  that  it  should  l)e  the  great  work  of  the 
denomination  to  ];)roclaim  and  illustrate  these  four  prin- 
ciples. A  series  of  strong  resolutions  was  adopted 
by  the  Assembly  in  harmonv  with  tlie  discourse ;  sug- 
gesting significantly,  however,  that  in  organizing 
churches  and  supplying  destitute  regions  the  presby- 
teries may  act  by  themselves  as  well  as  through  the 
American  H.  Mission  Society  —  a  suggestion  which 
contained  the  germ  of  the  complete  separation  that 
occurred  a  few  years  later. 

The  Narrative  of  Religion  re])orts  various  fav- 
orable and  unfavorable  matters,  ;r.d  claiuir,  a  ^""ir 
degree  of  consolidaticMi  and  progress,  but  the  statis- 
tics show  no  appreciable  increase  or  expansion  —  a 
small  advance  beyond  the  figures  of  1849.  ^\^^  best 
attainable  index  of  the  actual  condition  of  the  denom- 
ination appears  in  a  thoughtful  volume  prepared  that 
year,  under  the  authority  of  the  Synod  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  by  a  committee  of  which  Drs.  Judd, 
Skinner,  Hatfield  and  Spear  and  Judges  Hornblower, 
Haines  and  Jessup  were  members.  The  volume  was 
designed  to  set  forth  before  the  Christian  public  the 
real  position  and  claims  of  the  Church,  to  correct  cur- 
rent misunderstandings  respecting  it,  and  to  further 
its  interests  by  a  full  statement  of  its  belief,  temper, 
purpose.     It  contains  a  considerate  and  just  account 


118  ORGASIZATION  AND  APrA.XCE. 

of  tlie  Disruption  as  to  its  causes  and  procedures,  and 
closes  with  the  following  emphatic  testimony  : 

Many  of  the  obstacles  to  our  progress,  by  which 
we  have  been  embarrassed  most  of  the  time  since  our 
organization  in  1838.  are  now  removed.  During  a 
large  part  of  this  period  much  of  our  time  and  energies 
was  necessarily  devoted  to  the  defense  of  our  position 
and  rights.  Now  we  can  consecrate  them  to  labors 
for  extending  the  borders  of  our  heritage,  and  the 
sjiread  of  the  ( ios])el  through  the  world.  We  are  not, 
indeed,  rich  in  moncNcd  investments:  all  that  the 
*  Church  possessed  ])revious  to  the  Division  our  brethren 
have  apprc)]jriate(l  to  then. selves.  We  arc  con- 
fident, however,  that  ( iod  apjjroves  our  jjrinciples  and 
pol'cy.  and  that  if  we  humbly  confide  in  Him.  He  will 
not  withhold  His  blessing  from  us.  .  .  .  With  more 
than  fourteen  hundred  ministers,  more  than  fifteen 
himdred  churches,  and  more  than  one  himdred  and 
forty  thousand  communicants,  embracing  a  large 
amount  of  talent,  learning,  wealth  and  influence,  if 
associated  as  we  pray  it  ma}  be  with  a  spirit  of  activity 
and  of  humble  dependence  on  (lod.  what  by  His 
blessing  mav  we  not  achieve  for  the  dissemination  of 
His  truth,  for  the  promotion  of  His  honor,  and  the 
salvation  of  our  sin-destroyed,  suffering  world ! 

From  the  organization  of  the  first  (ieneral  As- 
sembly at  Philadelphia  in  1789.  its  successors  with 
but  four  exceptions  had  met.  prior  to  the  Disruption, 
in  that  honorable  seat  and  home  of  American  Pres- 
byterianism.  Hut  the  continental  expansion  of  the 
Church  had  suggested  even  before  that  event  the  im- 


portaiKX'  of  a  iiuirc  <listrilnitivi'  ])()lirv,  and  in  1844  the 
C).  S.  Assembly  set  an  example  of  migration,  whicii 
was  followed,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  session  of  the 
adjourned  X.  S.  Assembly  of  1847  in  Cincinnati,  and 
again  by  that  of  1850  in  Detroit.  Twice  only  did  it 
subsecjuently  meet  in  the  parent  city,  —  migrating 
meanwhile  from  New  York  on  the  east  to  Chicago  and 
St.  Louis  in  the  west.  There  were  both  advantages 
and  disadvantages  in  such  geographic  distribution,  and 
it  was  long  (pieried  whether  the  benefits  or  tlie  evils 
were  greater.  In  later  times  the  spread  of  both  the 
Nation  and  the  Church  has  seemed  to  compel  occasional 
visitations  of  tlie  supreme  judicatory  even  to  the  far 
Pacific  coast.  The  .\sseiubly  of  185 1  was  convened 
in  L'tica.  X.  \'..  in  the  very  heart  of  the  e-xscinded 
Svnods.  The  boch  honored  itself  and  gratified  the 
entire  Church  by  the  unanimous  election  of  Albert 
l^arnes*  as  Moderator  —  a  man  whose  calm  and  just 
bearing  during  the  controversies  preceding  the  divi- 
sion had  won  the  resjiect  even  of  those  who  questioned 
his  orthodoxx'.  and  whose  counsels  and  influence  sub- 
sequenth  had  been  valued  as  highly  as  those  of  any 
other  leading  mind  in  the  denomination.  Ihe  attend- 
ance was  large  and  fairly  re])resentative  of  the  whole 
Church,  and  the  sessions  were  both  more  hanuonious 
and  more  brief  than  those  of  some  {previous  years. 


*  Ai.REKT  B.xRNES,  boni  ill  Rome.  N.  V..  Dec.  1.  179X;  grad. 
Hamilton  Coll..  1820;  Princeton  Sem..  1824;  pastor  Morri.s- 
town,  N.  J..  1825-8(1;  First  Church.  Philadelphia.  1880-67, 
when  he  resigned;  died.  Piiiladelphia.  Dec.  24.  1870.  Author 
of  Nutes  on  the  Nczv  Testament,  and  on  Isaiah.  Job.  Daniel 
and  the  Fsahns;  sermons  on  the  IVay  of  Salvation  and  IJfe  at 
Thrceseore :  vol.  on  the  Atonement,  and  on  Revivals:  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity  in  the  Nineteenth  Centiirw 


120  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADVANCE. 

The  transactions  of  the  Assembly  call  for  no  detail. 
Various  ecclesiastical  matters,  such  as  the  adjustment 
of  presbyterial  boundaries,  the  erection  of  a  new  synod, 
the  review  and  correction  of  synodical  records,  the 
consideration  and  dismissal  of  a  judicial  complaint, 
were  duly  decided.  The  judicial  committee  congratu- 
lated the  Assembly  on  the  peaceful  relations  existing 
within  the  lower  judicatories,  and  the  manifest  dis- 
position prevalent  to  terminate  personal  difficulties 
without  extended  litigation.  As  to  moral  issues  the 
Assembly  repeated  the  former  deliverances  on  the 
Sabbath,  on  temperance  reform,  and  after  some  dis- 
cussion, on  slavery.  In  view  of  the  recent  passage  of 
the  fugitive  slave  law,  a  declaration  that  no  human 
enactment  can  make  it  a  duty  to  send  back,  or  assist 
in  sending  back,  to  hopeless  bondage  persons  who  are 
innocent  of  crime,  was  debated  but  finally  laid  aside 
as  inopportune.  The  existing  societies  organized  in 
the  interest  of  missions,  of  the  circulation  of  the  Bible 
and  of  tracts  and  religious  books,  and  also  of  liberal 
and  theological  education,  were  all  cordially  endorsed. 
The  matter  of  correspondence  with  the  General  Asso- 
ciation of  New  York.  Congregational,  while  friendly 
in  tone  resulted  in  the  passage  of  a  significant  resolu- 
tion deprecating  the  spirit  of  rivalry  and  the  spirit 
of  proselytism  on  whatever  side.  The  home  mission- 
ary sermon  preached  by  request  of  the  Assembly  was 
an  earnest  and  influential  appeal  for  more  strenuous 
church  extension,  and  after  discussion  the  whole  sub- 
ject was  referred  to  a  special  committee  under  instruc- 
tion to  report  to  the  next  Assembly. 

The  statistical   reports  for  the  year  show  a  small 


ASS/:.\fHLy  OI-   18.V-'.  121 

advance  in  ministers,  cluirclu's  and  nHMiihcrship,  and 
the  amuial  Narrative  indicates  a  healtliv.  even  pros- 
perous condition  in  the  Church.  While  the  theolo<^ical 
seminaries  are  commended,  the  scarcity  of  ministers 
duly  (lualified  and  faithful,  especially  in  the  newer 
reg'ions  of  the  church  domain,  is  lamented.  Revivals 
of  religion,  especially  in  the  colleijes.  are  reported, 
and  the  hope  is  expressed  that  from  tliis  source  the 
needful  supplv  of  ministers  may  soon  he  secured.  In- 
crease in  church  attendance.  accessicMis  to  the  churches 
on  profession,  the  organizing^  of  some  new  churches 
and  the  increase  in  older  ones,  the  cancelling  of  church 
dehts,  are  also  reported.  The  central  subject  of 
church  extension,  in  its  relations  to  the  evangelizing 
of  the  whole  country,  is  urged  as  a  matter  of  prime 
importance.  .All  in  all,  the  situation  must  he  pro- 
nounced encouraging. 

The  Assembly  of  1852,  held  in  Washington,  Will- 
iam Adams,  D.  D.*  being  Moderator,  was  one  of 
special  importance.  The  general  expectation  that 
something  significant  would  be  done  toward  the  more 
thorough  organizing  of  the  Church  for  effective  work, 
added  to  the  attractions  of  the  place  of  assembling, 
brought  an  exceptionally  large  attendance,  and  im- 
parted special  interest  to  the  proceedings  of  the  body. 
It   had  been  widely   realized  that  however  successful 


*  William  An.\MS.  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  born  Colchester,  Ct., 
Jan.  25,  1807  :  grad.  Yale,  1827  and  Andover  Sem.,  1830 ;  pas- 
tor Brighton,  Mass.,  1831-4;  New  York  City,  1834-1873; 
President  of  Union  Sem.,  till  his  death.  Orange.  N.  J.,  Aug. 
31,  1880.  Author  of  Three  Gardens.  Thanksgiving,  Conver- 
sations of  Christ,  and  other  productions. 


122  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADl'ANCE. 

umlenominational  aii^tMicics  at  work  in  the  great  field 
mig'ht  be,  the  Church  as  an  org-anism  was  suffering 
for  the  lack  of  that  discipline,  culture,  enthusiasm 
which  direct  participation  in  such  departments  of 
Christian  activity  would  induce.  For  it  is  an  universal 
fact  of  experience  that  neither  the  individual  disciple 
nor  the  organized  household  of  faith  can  grow  into 
full  maturity  through  any  commitment  of  what  is  per- 
sonal work  for  Christ  to  other  hands,  however  efficient 
those  hands  may  be.  It  was  also  believed  by  many 
tliat  the  Church  was  steadily  losing  on)und,  esj^ecially 
in  the  matter  of  home  missions,  which  it  could  hold 
with  advantage  through  an  indejiendent  administra- 
tion, in  some  minds  there  was  also  a  growing  im- 
pression that  in  several  other  directions,  if  not  uni- 
versallV,  something  resembling  the  general  policy  of 
strictly  internal  management  followed  by  the  Church 
( ).  S.  was  becoming  important  if  not  vital  to  the 
healthful  develoj)ment  and  progress  of  the  Church. 
And  such  views  and  impressions  were  much  intensified 
in  a  practical  way  through  some  defection  toward  an 
aggressive  Congregationalism  on  one  side,  and  the 
return  to  the  other  Church  of  some  who  |)referred  at 
heart  its  stricter  theory  and  administration. 

It  is  hardly  needful  to  refer  to  the  ordinary  trans- 
actions of  the  Assembly,  though  some  of  these  had 
more  than  usual  interest.  The  visit  of  the  body  to  the 
tomb  of  Washington  and  the  provision  for  a  suitable 
block  of  marble  to  be  placed  in  his  Monument  then  in 
process  of  erection,  should  be  mentioried.  In  respect 
to  the  grave  matters  just  suggested,  it  was  inevitable 
that    two    somewhat    diverse    parties    should    arise. — 


UOMli  MISSIOXS   niSCUSSED.  l-_'3 

cme  clingini^:  tenaciously  to  the  existinfj  undenomin- 
ational ajjencies  and  countinij^  it  even  a  species  of 
treachery  to  withdraw  from  them  in  full  view  of  the 
good  thev  had  wr()UiJ:ht,  ^  the  other  lookin,^-  more  to 
the  future  than  to  the  past,  reoardinj^:  some  of  these 
agencies  with  susi)icion.  and  l)elieving  that  union 
with  them  could  not  be  continued  withoiU  serious  loss. 
In  some  sense  each  of  these  classes  of  o])inion  had  its 
wav.  ()\\  one  side  it  was  declared  that  the  ! 'Ian  of 
L'nion  still  existed  in  full  force,  though  in  fact  but  few 
if  any  churches  had  recently  been  organized  under  its 
provisions:  and  the  abrogation  of  the  Plan  liy  the 
Assembly  of  1837  was  pronounced  unconstitutional 
and  void.  Correspondence  with  Congregation.al  Asso- 
ciations was  still  maintained,  although  the  preceding 
Assembly  had  l)een  obliged  to  protest  against  the 
spirit  of  rivalry  shown  by  some  parties,  degenerating 
into  acts  of  proselytism.  Representatives  of  the  vari- 
ous voluntary  societies  were  present,  but  little  room 
was  found  for  consideration  of  their  respective  causes. 
P>oth  the  time  and  the  interest  of  the  Assembly  were 
absorbed  rather  by  the  three  practical  subjects  sub- 
mitted by  the  committee  of  the  previous  year  on 
church  extension. 

(  )f  these  the  most  urgent  and  important  was  home 
missions,  b'or  two  or  three  years,  as  we  have  seen. 
the  subject  had  been  pressing  itself  with  increasing 
force  on  the  attention  of  the  Church,  as  one  involving 
its  growth  if  not  its  existence.  After  prolonged  dis- 
cussion it  was  determined  that  the  .\merican  H.  M. 
Society  should  continue  to  be  the  agency  through 
which  this  form  of  missionar\-  work  should  be  carried 


124  ORGAXIZATIOX  AND  ADl'ANCE. 

on,  —  that  annual  contributions  to  its  treasury  should 
continue  to  be  secured  by  the  presbyteries  and 
churches.  —  but  that  each  presbytery  should  have  the 
right  to  recommend  applications  for  aid  independently 
of  the  agents  representing  that  Society,  and  should 
have  the  further  right  to  appoint  itinerant  mission- 
aries within  its  own  bounds  who  should  explore  desti- 
tute fields  and  ])repare  the  way  for  the  formation  of 
new  churches  wherever  in  the  judgment  of  the  pres- 
bytery these  were  needed.  Further,  each  presbytery 
and  likewise  each  synod  was  empowered  to  elect  annu.- 
ally  a  standing  committee  on  church  extension,  in 
order  to  supervise  all  such  special  work,  and  each 
svnod  was  authorized  to  call  for  a  specific  collection 
from  each  of  its  churches,  to  be  distributed  directly 
for  the  erection  of  houses  of  worship  within  its  own 
bounds  or  beyond  them :  and  such  committees  were 
required  to  make  annual  report  of  their  doings  and 
of  the  condition  of  the  churches  under  their  care,  in 
all  particulars,  to  the  Assembly  ensuing.  As  a  concil- 
iatory measure,  a  special  committee  was  appointed  to 
confer  with  the  officers  of  the  .A..  H.  M.  Society  in 
order  to  secure  its  concurrence,  so  far  as  possible,  in 
the  provisions  thus  made. 

The  second  of'  these  subjects  was  education  for 
the  ministr\ a  matter  which  had  for  some  years  de- 
manded special  consideration,  and  which  now  excited 
much  earnest  discussion.  The  Assembly  finally  recom- 
mended that  each  presbytery  appoint  a  standing  com- 
mittee on  this  subject,  to  secure  the  presentation  of 
the  cause  in  all  its  churches,  to  press  upon  parents 
their  dutv  to  devote  their  sons  and  upon  young  men 


EDLCA  TlOX  —  I'i'HIJC.l  TIOX.  125 

to  sj;ivc  thciiisflvcs  to  the  niiiiislrv.  to  take  cliaryc  of 
all  churoli  collections  and  disburse  tlieni,  and  to  have 
si)ecial  supervision  over  all  candidates  for  the  sacred 
office.  The  formation  of  what  was  called  the  West- 
er!i  Education  Society,  to  be  located  at  Cincinnati,  and 
authorized  to  act  as  a  general  ai^ency  for  the  promo- 
tion of  the  cause,  was  recommended  under  certain 
prescribed  conditions.  The  theolo.^ical  seminaries  also 
were  both  cordially  etjdorsed  and  encouraged  in  their 
actual  work,  and  requested,  notwithstandiui;-  their  in- 
dejxMulent  mode  of  organization,  to  make  full  iei)orts 
of  their  students  and  their  general  condition  to  each 
.Assembl}-. 

The  third  suliject  i)resented  by  the  committee  re- 
lated to  the  adoption  of  measures  suited  to  promote 
through  the  press  the  dissemination  of  those  truths 
and  principles  which  were  regarded  as  characteristic 
of  the  denomination,  —  in  other  words,  an  agency  for 
the  publication  of  doctrinal  tracts  and  other  church 
literature.  The  proposed  issuance  of  a  Quarterly  Re- 
view, the  first  number  of  which  in  fact  appeared  shortly 
after  the  adjournment,  and  the  assurance  of  the  man- 
agement of  the  Xew  York  livangelist  that  that 
periodical  would  be  so  conducted  as  to  subserve  the 
interests  of  the  Church  in  this  regard,  were  cordially 
welcomed,  and  these  two  pul)lications  were  com- 
mended to  the  patronage  of  ministers  and  people.  But 
a  more  significant  ste])  was  the  a])pointment  of  a  stand- 
ing committee  to  provide  for  the  publishing  of  a  series 
of  tracts  explanatorv  of  the  doctrines,  govermnent  and 
missionary  policy  of  the  Church :  —  said  connnittee 
l)eing  located   in    F'hiladelpliia   and  empowered   to  ap- 


126  ORGASIZATIOX  AXD  ADVAXCE. 

point  a  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  to  solicit  fund& 
from  the  churches  in  support  of  the  cause ;  and  in- 
structed to  report  its  doings  to  each  Assembly. 

It  now  becomes  apparent  that  after  fourteen  years 
of  experiment  the  Church  had  come  into  a  more  medi- 
ate position  on  the  issue  between  voluntary  societies 
and  strict  ecclesiastical  agencies  in  carrying  forward 
these  three  forms  of  religious  activity.  Partly  through 
such  ex])erimental  conviction,  and  probably  in  part 
through  other  influences,  it  had  reached  the  point 
where  in  view  of  the  career  providentially  opening 
before  it.  it  found  itself  constrained  to  supply  itself 
with  more  efifective  instrumentalities  of  this  class  than 
it  had  heretofore  possessed.  The  second  stage  in  its 
Hfe  had  thus  begun,  and  the  process  of  organization 
once  started  could  only  progress  toward  still  larger 
provisions  of  this  kind  in  the  near  future.  The  Narra- 
tive for  the  year  reveals  both  the  widespread  need  of 
the  action  which  the  Assembly  liad  taken,  and  the 
encouragement  to  go  forward  in  supplying  that  need 
through  the  agencies  thus  chosen.  Special  emphasis  is 
laid  in  the  Narrative  on  the  threefold  form  of  the  work 
waiting  to  be  done. —  among  the  destitute  population  of 
American  birth  along  the  s])reading  frontier,  among 
the  incoming  multitude  of  immigrants  from  the  Old 
World,  among  the  colored  people  in  the  South.  The 
condition  of  the  Church  at  this  interesting  stage  is 
well  described  in  the  introductory  article  of  the  Quar- 
terly Revievy  just  mentioned: 

"We  have  with  us  the  confidence  of  other  Chris- 
tian communions  :  we  have  in  our  body  the  grand  and 
essential   elements  of  truth,   order,   liberality  and   the 


CHXRR.ii.  roi.irv  n/rrnRMixnn.  \n 

spirit  of  proi^rcss ;  we  have  no  stain  of  injustice  on 
our  history  ;  we  have  our  ancient  cherished  comnui- 
nion  and  cooperation,  as  had  our  fathers,  with  the 
churches  of  Xew  l^ni^land  :  we  liave  our  nohle  and 
well  manned  collej^iate  and  theolog^ical  institutions ; 
we, have  under  our  s])ecial  influence  the  northern  helt 
of  this  glorious  land,  with  its  ra|)id  advance  in  a  free 
population;  we  have  near  sixteen  hundred  ministers, 
and  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  church 
members,  representing-  a  population  of  some  six  hun- 
dred thousand  souls  ;  we  have  wealth,  enterprise  and 
—  it  is  to  be  hoped  —  the  blessing  of  God.  Well  may 
we  congratulate  ourselves  on  our  prospects.  We  can 
afford  to  love  our  branch  of  the  Church  and  consecrate 
our  labors  and  ])rayers  and  charities  to  its  prosperitv." 

The  plan  of  organization  initiated  at  Washington 
determined  largely  the  policy  and  methods  of  the  de- 
nomination during  the  remainder  of  its  separate  life. 
Though  some  doubted  the  wisdom  of  the  new  move- 
ment, and  a  few  among  the  special  friends  of  the  vol- 
untary method  withdrew  from  the  body.  Churcli  Ex- 
tension, especially  along  the  three  lines  specified,  be- 
came the  accepted  and  general  watchword.  The  act 
of  the  Albany  Convention.  Congregational,  during  the 
same  year,  formally  setting  aside  the  Plan  of  Union, 
justified  distinctly  the  course  taken,  particularly  in  the 
field  of  home  missions.  Other  indications  there  were 
which  need  not  here  be  described,  going  to  show  that 
the  new  policy  had  not  been  inaugurated  too  soon. 
And  when  the  Assembly  met  at  lUtffalo  in  1853. 
though   some   divcrsit\'   of  judgnient   and    feeling   still 


128  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADl'AXCE. 

existed,  the  pathway  of  progress  seemed  to  most  to 
be  clear  and  inviting  —  a  way  of  safety  and  a  way 
of  growtli.  The  ]\Ioderator  chosen.  Rev.  D.  Howe 
Allen,  D.  D.* —  a  man  of  great  personal  worth  and 
charm,  and  who  had  been  extensively  known  as  a  wise 
and  safe  counsellor  —  was  called  to  the  place  with  the 
cordial  approval  of  all.  because  he  was  known  to  be  in 
sympathv  with  the  measures  already  adopted  and  with 
the  plans  in  contemplation  for  further  advance.  The 
large  attendance,  especially  from  the  West,  made 
plain  the  loyal  adherence  of  the  denomination  gener- 
ally to  these  measures  and  prospective  plans.  While 
sonie  doubted  and  a  few  held  back,  it  was  clear  that 
the  Church  was  at  least  as  far  unified  in  its  acceptance. 
as  loyal  in  its  temper,  as  could  have  been  expected  at 
that  stage. 

That  there  was  no  disjiositii'U  to  break  away  at 
once  from  all  undenominational  activity-  is  evidenced 
by  the  cordial  action  taken  in  endorsement  of  the  Am- 
erican Bible  Society,  the  Sunday  School  Union,  the 
American  and  h^)reign  Christian  Union,  the  National 
Tem])erance  I'nion,  and  some  other  kindred  organiza- 
tions, and  also  by  the  hearty  welcome  given  as  here- 
tofore to  the  delegates  representing  other  evangelical 
comnnmions.  The  Am.  H.  M.  Society  with  which  the 
Church  was  still  conjointly  canying  on  the  home 
missionarv   work,   with   the  excei)tions   already  noted. 


*  DiARCA  Howe  Allen.  D.  D..  born.  Lebanon,  N.  H.,  July 
3,  18(18;  grad.  Dartmouth,  18'Ji>  and  Andover  Sem..  1833; 
Prof.  Marieua  Coll..  1833-40;  Prof.  Sac.  Rhet.  Lane  Sem., 
1840-51:  and  Syst.  Theol..  1851-()7 ;  eineritu.^^  Prof.,  till  his 
death.  Granville,   O.,  Nov.   9,  187(1.     D.  D.,   Marietta,   1848. 


nEiiiLori^c  I'l.Axs.  \i\) 

disavowed  all  disjjosition  to  intcrtcn.'  with  the  proper 
functions  of  the  jjresbyteries,  and  j;ave  ecjrdial  assur- 
ance of  just  and  impartial  administration  of  its  trust, 
without  any  discrimination  between  the  two  denomin- 
ations interested.  ( )n  this  basis  the  Asseml)ly  advised 
that  the  work  of  the  Church  should  so  far  as  possible 
be  conducted  throuLjh  that  agency. —  at  the  same  time 
declarini;-  that  there  were  some  imi)ortant  ])arts  of 
the  worl<  which  coidd  not  be  ade(|uately  cared  for 
tiirouuh  tile  Societ\-  and  must  be  carried  on  therefore, 
if  at  all,  thr()U'.;h  s])ecial  denominational  instrumental- 
ities. 

As  to  ediicatiim  and  publication  there  was  no  re- 
cession from  the  ])lans  determined  ui)on  by  the  ])re- 
vious  Assembh.  It  was  stroui^ly  urged  by  some  that 
the  Church  sh(mld  at  once  assume  full  responsibility 
for  the  su])pl\-  of  a  trained  and  sufficient  ministry  by 
instituting  an  agency  of  its  own  for  that  ])urpose:  and 
a  committee  was  finally  a])])ointed  to  consider  and 
digest  a  ])lan  to  this  end  with  instruction  to  report 
such  plan  to  the  next  Assembly.  Meanwhile  reports 
from  the  several  theological  seminaries  were  received 
with  special  interest ;  and  colleges  and  also  schools  for 
the  education  of  youth  of  both  sexes  were  commended 
t(i  the  fostering  care  of  Christians  in  all  suitable 
localities. —  The  standing  committee  on  publication  was 
airain  instructed  to  issue  a  series  of  tracts  for  general 
distribution,  clearly  setting  forth  the  doctrine,  polity 
and  general  ])olicy  of  the  Church,  in  order  to  answer 
current  calumnies  and  to  show  to  the  world  its  true 
position.  The  committee  was  also  authorized  to 
secure   in  an\    ])racticable  way   funds   for  the  building 


130  ORGAXIZATION  AND  ADfAXCE. 

of  a  house  of  puljlication.  In  this  connection  the 
volume  on  the  (hvision.  already  mentioned,  vva-;  par- 
ticularl}-  commended  to  both  ministers  and  church 
officers  and  members  as  a  correct  and  acceptable  history 
of  the  painful  Disruption. 

A  fourth  step  in  the  line  of  complete  denomina- 
tional organization  was  taken  by  the  Assembly  in  de- 
termining' to  a])i)oint  another  standing  committer  in 
the  interest  specifically  of  church  erection  —  the  aid- 
ing' of  feeble  congregations  in  the  securing  of  houses 
of  worship  as  indispensable  adjuncts  in  the  upbuilding 
of  the  Church  in  more  destitute  regions.  It  was  also 
resolved  to  raise  a  permanent  fund  of  $100,000,  to 
be  loaned  or  otherwise  used  in  furtherance  of  this 
object.  The  committee  was  empowered  to  solicit  sub- 
scriptions from  all  the  churches,  to  appoint  its  own 
salaried  secretary,  and  to  make  all  needful  rules  and 
provisions,  subject  to  the  Assembly,  for  the  wise  ad- 
ministration of  the  trust  committed  to  its  care. 

The  strong  deliverances  of  the  Assembly  on  the 
subject  of  religious  liberty  and  on  the  observance  of 
the  Sabbath,  its  wise  suggestions  concerning  forms  of 
public  worship,  its  protest  against  promiscuous  danc- 
ing as  an  amusement  unworthy  of  Christians,  its 
commendation  of  the  scheme  of  African  colonization, 
its  judicious  action  on  certain  synodical  records  in- 
volving a  matter  of  discipline  and  the  erection  of  two 
new  synods,  must  be  passed  without  special  notice, 
though  they  well  illustrate  the  general  attitude  and 
spirit  of  the  body.  The  troublesome  question  of  slav- 
ery made  its  appearance  here  as  in  every  previous 
Assembly,  exciting  a  debate  both  bitter  and  prolonged 


^7..  /  /  7:7\  )  ■  —  ST.  /  TIS'llCS.  131 

—  endiiij;  in  the  adoption,  with  lart^e  dissent,  of  a 
report  reconinuMidin^  j)resI)vtorics  in  the  South  to 
make  particular  in(|uiries  as  to  tlio  nuniher  of  church 
members  hoUHn.^'  slaves  and  to  the  treatment  and 
religious  training-  of  slaves  ])y  such  masters.  This 
action  was  followed  by  two  vij^orous  protests,  claiming 
that  the  re(|uest  of  the  .\ssembly  was  one  which  that 
body  had  no  constitutional  right  to  make,  and  one 
with  which  the  jjresbyteries  addressed  liad  no  consti- 
tutional ])ower  to  comply.  It  seems  clear  that  if  that 
request  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  summons  to  these  presby- 
teries to  institute  an  investigation  at  a  point  where 
they  had  no  ecclesiastical  authority,  specially  with  a 
view  to  furnishing  to  the  Assemblv  a  series  of  facts 
that  might  be  made  the  basis  of  judicial  proceedings 
against  themselves,  there  was  just  warrant  for  such 
protestation. 

The  statistics  for  the  vear  show  that  in  the  number 
of  ministers  and  candidates  for  the  ministry,  of 
churches  and  presbyteries,  and  in  the  additions  to  the 
membership,  there  had  been  a  small  increase  over  the 
figures  of  the  preceding  year,  wliich  were  the  largest 
in  the  history  of  the  Church  thus  far.  The  Narrative, 
while  it  speaks  of  the  developing  spirit  of  benevolence, 
of  churches  reaching  the  stage  of  independence  and  of 
increasing  interest  in  church  extension  in  its  several 
forms,  and  em])hasizes  especially  the  cheering  facts 
of  revivals  enjoyed  in  more  than  half  of  the  presby- 
teries, rei)orts  on  the  (ither  hand  a  lamentable  dearth  ' 
of  ministers,  particularly  in  the  farther  West,  and 
earnestly  deprecates  the  existence  of  two  great  evils 
from  which  the  Cliurch  was  suffei  ing, —  an  aggressive 


132  ORGASIZATIOX  AXH  APTAXCE. 

sectarianism  operatiiii^  from  without  to  the  impairment 
of  concord  and  the  (Hsruption  of  churches,  and  the  pro- 
longed agitation  resi)ecting  slavery,  with  its  bitter  and 
schismatical  accompaniments,  threatening  year  by 
year  to  be  the  destruction  of  the  denomination. 

The  three  years  that  followed,  1854-1856,*  were 
vears  of  advance  in  organization  and  equipment,  and 
also  in  position  and  inHuence.  They  were  so  nearly 
alike  in  their  experience  and  mo\ement  that  they  may 
readily  be  surveyed  together  in  this  review.  In  1854, 
the  Church  was  represented  by  twenty-three  synods 
with  one  hundred  and  eight   presbyteries,   distributed 


*  The  three  Assemblies  were  held  at  Philadelphia.  St.  Louis 
and  New  York,  respectively,  and  the  presiding  officers  were: 

1854.  Thomas  Harvev  Skinner.  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  born  in 
North  Carolina,  March  7.  ITitl  :  grad.  Princeton  Coll.,  li- 
censed. 1812 ;  pastor.  Philadelphia :  Prof,  of  Sac.  Rhet.  An- 
dover;  pastor.  New  York.  1835-48;  Prof.  Sac.  Rhet.  and 
Past.  Theol.  Union  Seminary.  1848  till  his  death,  Feb.  1,  1871. 
Author  of  Aids  to  Preaching  and  Hearing.  Hints  to  Chris- 
tians, Discussions  in  Theology,  and  other  publications. 


.  1855.  William  Carpenter  Wisner,  I).  D.,  son  of  Dr. 
William  Wisner  (Mod.  1840).  born.  Elmira.  N.  Y..  Dec.  7, 
1808:  grad.  Union  Coll..  1830:  pastor  Rochester,  1832,  and 
other  places:  Lockport.  1837-7H.  Died  July  14,  1880.  .\uthor 
of  Prelacy  and  Parity,  and  many  published  sermons. 


1856.  Laurens  Perseus  Hk  kok.  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  bom 
Pethel  Conn.,  Dec.  2!),  1799;  grad.  Union  Coll.,  1820;  era., 
1824;  pastor.  Kent.  Ct.,  1824-9:  Litchfield  1829-36:  Prof. 
Theol.  in  Western  Reserve  Coll.,  183(i-44,  and  in  Auburn  Sem., 
1844-52:  Prof,  and  Vice-Pres.  Union  Coll.,  1852-66;  Presi- 
dent, 1866-8;  died  in  .^mher.st,  Mass.,  May  6,  1888,  D.  D., 
Hamilton.  1843;  LL.  D..  .Amherst.  18t;6.  Author  of  /^afionfl/ 
Psychology.  Empirical  Psychology.  Moral  Philosophy.  Creator 
and  Creation.  Hnmanitx  immortal,  and  other  works. 


THRF.r.    XOTABLF.    YF.ARS.  133 

tlirough  no  less  than  fourteen  States,  and  comprising 
a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand. 
Six  of  these  synods,  having  a  nienil)ership  of  about 
fifteen  thousand,  were  located  in  five  of  the  southern 
States.  chieHy  in  V'irjj^inia  and  Kentucky.  The  statis- 
tics of  three  years  later  show  but  very  slight  increase 
in  ministers  and  churches,  and  a  small  loss  in  member- 
ship —  a  fact  which  nia\-  be  accounted  for  in  part  by 
reference  to  the  two  great  evils  mentioned  in  the 
Narrative  of  1853.  Still,  when  the  hundreds  of  re- 
vivals reported  during  these  years  are  taken  into 
account,  and  when  statistics  show  additions  of  more 
than  seventeen  thousand  on  profession  of  faith  and 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  more  by  letter,  the  lack  of 
registered  advance  at  the  close  seems  inexplicable. 

\'iewe(l  on  the  interior,  the  situation  was  not  un- 
favorable :  the  various  forms  of  church  activity,  not- 
withstanding occasional  questioning  or  indifference, 
went  on  with  a  good  degree  of  eflficiency.  Church 
extension  continued  to  be  an  inspiring  watchword. 
The  complex  task  of  home  missions  was  prosecuted 
as  heretofore  under  the  original  arrangement  witli  the 
Am.  H.  M.  Society:  further  years  of  discussion  and  of 
adjustment  must  be  passed  before  the  Church  could 
entireh-  and  with  unanimitv  undertake  that  task  for 
itself.  Rut  the  aggregate  of  special  or  exceptional 
cases  was  steadily  increasing,  and  larger  provision  was 
consequently  needful  to  supply  this  growing  need.  In 
1855  a  permanent  committee  on  church  extension 'was 
therefore  a])pointed,  which  was  empowered  to  employ 
svnodical  or  presbyterial  or  exploring  agents  for  the 
purpose  of  ])lanting  churches  of  tlu'  Presbyterian  faith 


134  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADVANCE. 

and  order  in  country  or  in  citv.  and  also  to  solicit  and 
disburse  any  funds  that  could  bo  secured  for  this  pur- 
pose. This  step  was  justified,  notwithstanding  the 
arrangement  with  the  H.  M.  Society,  on  the  general 
ground  that  the  Church  is  one.  that  its  stronger  sec- 
tions ought  to  support  the  weaker,  that  all  are  alike 
interested  in  the  general  development  and  expansion, 
and  that  the  Assembly  is  the  projjer  organ  for  the 
supplying  of  this  denominational  need.  The  report  of 
this  committee  to  the  next  Assembly  showed  that  some 
valuable  results  had  been  secured  through  this  process. 
and  that  some  thousands  of  dollars  had  been  obtained 
for  this  purpose  without  —  it  was  claimed  —  diminish- 
ing the  contributions  to  the  Society. 

In  the  department  of  church  erection,  similar  activ- 
ity was  manifest.  In  1854,  a  committee  appointed  the 
previous  year  presented  an  elaborate  ])lan,  which  was 
adopted  with  unanimity  by  the  Asseml)ly,  establishing 
a  permanent  committee.  prescnl)ing  its  sphere  and 
functions,  authorizing  it  to  secure  a  charter,  to  appoint 
a  secretary  and  treasurer,  to  receive  and  disburse  all 
moneys  contributed  to  this  cause,  to  hold  in  trust  all 
permanent  funds,  and  instructing  it  faithfully  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  thus  designed  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Assembly.  At  the  next  Assembly  this  ])lan  was 
further  revised  and  some  changes  were  made :  the 
requisite  charter  was  reported,  trustees  were  appointed 
under  it  and  the  permanent  fund  was  placed  under 
their  care ;  and  from  this  time  the  perfected  scheme 
began  to  work  out  the  beneficent  results  hoped  for, 
as  in  fact  it  continued  to  do  while  the  Church  lived. 

In  the  interest  of  theoloeical  education,  a   similar 


PLANS    M.irik'IXG.  135 

committee  was  apiK)inte(l  in  1854,  to  operate  in  con- 
junction witli  the  two  undenominational  Societies 
already  existing^  and  engaj^ed  in  this  form  of  service. 
This  committee  was  to  he  a  re])resentative  of  the 
Assenihlv  in  this  special  department,  and  was  empow- 
ered to  appoint  a  secretary,  to  solicit  and  use  funds, 
and  do  whatever  else  the  welfare  of  the  cause  might 
demand.  The  synods  and  preshxteries  were  exhorted 
to  use  all  diligence  in  furthering  the  operations  of  the 
committee,  and  to  secure  annual  collections  in  its 
su])port.  The  discussions  on  this  plan  were  prolonged 
and  intense,  —  considerable  diversity  of  view  being 
manifest  on  one  side  as  to  both  principle  and  expe- 
diency, offset  on  the  other  by  a  controlling  desire  to 
conserve  the  denominational  unity  and  harmony.  In 
1855  and  again  in  1856,  the  ])lan  was  more  fully 
elaborated,  the  committee  enlarged,  its  powers  and 
duties  defined,  its  sphere  more  distinctly  described : 
and  the  cause  thus  constituted  was  earnestly  com- 
mended to  presbyteries  and  churches  throughout  the 
denomination.  In  the  latter  year  the  theological  sem- 
inaries were  eulogized  for  their  efftciency  in  a  s])ecial 
rei)ort,  which  closes  with  these  words  :  We  connnend 
these  institutions,  their  teachers  and  students,  to  the 
prayers  and  cordial  sup])ort  of  the  Church  :  they  are 
our  hope  for  continued  and  increasing  influence  and 
power  among  men. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  ap]:)oint- 
ment  in  1852  of  a  standing  committee  for  the  pub- 
lication of  doctrinal  tracts  and  other  church  litera- 
ture. —  enlarged  with  additional  ]:)owers  and  duties  in 
the  following  year.      In   1854,  this  committee  was  also 


136  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADVANCE. 

organized  on  a  basis  similar  to  that  already  described 
in  the  departments  of  church  erectior  and  theological 
education :  the  plan  was  more  fully  elaborated  in  the 
two  years  following;  and  in  1856  the  Assembly  de- 
clared its  conviction  that  there  was  here  an  import- 
ant field  of  influence  and  usefulness  which  could  well 
be  occupied  without  interference  with  voluntary  So- 
cieties or  other  agencies  engaged  in  supplying  a  more 
general  evangelical  and  evangelizing  literature,  and 
therefore  authorized  annual  collections  from  the 
churches,  and  the  solicitation  of  a  permanent  capital 
such  as  might  be  needful  in  carrying  forward  this 
special  work. 

It  is  thus  apparent  that  during  the  three  years  now 
passing  under  review  the  Church  had  been  carefully 
and  firmly  organizing  itself  along  these  four  main  lines 
for  the  better  furtherance  of  its  own  life  and  growth. 
Even  though  this  process  involved  more  or  less  of 
friction  with  the  several  undenominational  agencies  en- 
gaged in  these  four  departments  of  Christian  effort, 
it  cannot  justly  be  said  that  there  were  no  adequate 
reasons  for  the  course  so  adopted  and  pursued.  Nor 
can  it  fairly  be  alleged  that  either  an  aggressive  sec- 
tarianism or  a  culpable  indifference  to  the  claims  of 
these  agencies  marked  the  transition  in  policy  thus 
wrought.  The  repeated  and  hearty  commendation  of 
these  jiarticular  agencies,  and  the  earnest  loyalty  of 
the  successive  Assemblies  to  the  American  liible  So- 
ciety, the  Sunday  School  Union  and  some  other  like 
organizations,  are  clear  evidence  to  the  contrary.  The 
determination  to  do  nothing  toward  organizing  pres- 
byteries by  missionaries  in  pagan  lands  is  another  in- 


rARTlCLLAK    QlESllOXS.  137 

(lication  of  tlie  catholic  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 
Church.  The  complex  process  as  it  went  on  year  by 
year  is  sini])ly  to  be  reg;arde(l  as  a  needful  ])r()visi()n 
for  the  coni]ileter  unifyin<j  and  knitting-  together  of 
the  denomination,  and  for  the  more  efifective  prosecu- 
tion of  its  ordained  mission  among  men. 

It  is  not  needful  to  present  liere  a  resume  of  the 
numerous  matters  of  minor  moment  acted  upon  by  the 
three  Assemblies.  Xo  doctrinal  issues  arose,  beyond 
the  question  of  framing  a  short  confession  to  be  used 
especially  in  the  admission  of  members,  which  after 
consideration  was  decided  adversely.  The  common, 
or  authorized,  version  of  the  Bible  was  conmiended. 
and  the  proposal  to  ])repare  a  new  version  discoun- 
tenanced. Xo  judicial  cases  api)eared  in  proper  form 
for  adjudication,  nor  did  any  other  ecclesiastical  issue 
of  much  moment  present  itself.  The  troublesome 
question  of  slavery  made  its  appearance  in  each  of  the 
three  Assemblies,  and  received  what  is  described  as 
protracted,  deliberate  and  prayerful  consideration.  — 
ending  in  1856  in  the  adoption  of  a  strong  report 
affirming  the  constitutional  jurisdiction  of  the  As- 
sembly, and  its  right  to  press  specific  inquiries  re- 
specting the  matter  on  the  synods  and  presbyteries  of 
the  South.  An  elaborate  minority  report  was  pre- 
sented, denying  the  right  of  the  Assembly  to  pro- 
nounce slaveholding  an  ofifence  recognizable  in  the 
Book  of  Discipline,  and  questioning  its  authority  to 
institute  judicial  action  in  any  direct  form  against  the 
class  of  persons  so  described. 

The  Xarratives  of  the  State  of  Religion  for  the 
three  years  are  too  brief,  general,  indefinite,  to  shed 


138  ORGANIZATIOX  AXD  ADJ'AXCE. 

much  light  on  the  actual  condition  of  the  Church. 
A  degree  of  prosperity  is  reported  as  evidenced  in  the 
building  of  sanctuaries  and  the  support  of  the  ministry, 
the  comparative  though  inadequate  supply  of  minis- 
ters in  destitute  sections,  growth  in  denominational 
zeal  and  the  sense  of  unity,  interest  in  moral  reforms, 
and  especially  the  presence  of  revivals  in  many 
churches  and  presbyteries.  There  is  little  mention  of 
the  various  hindrances  obstructing  the  path  of  pro- 
gress, and  no  explanation  is  given  of  the  disheartening 
fact,  appearing  in  the  statistics  as  already  mentioned, 
that  while  no  less  than  17,290  persons  were  received 
during  this  interim  on  profession  of  faith,  there  was 
an  actual  loss  at  the  end  of  1,692  members. 

The  three  succeeding  years,  1857- 1859,  may  be  con- 
sidered together  as  completing  the  second  decade  in 
the  life  of  the  developing  Church.  \\'ith  such  com- 
pletion, genesis  and  evolution,  organization  and  ad- 
vance, were  to  give  wav  for  the  final  decade  of  matur- 
ity and  consummation.  The  Assembly  of  1857.  the 
largest  ever  held  up  to  that  time,  met  in  Cleveland, 
"and  was  organized  by  the  election  of  Samuel  W. 
Fisher,    D.    D.,*    as    Moderator.     It   met    during    the 


*  Samuel  Ware  Fishek,  D.  D.,  LL.  D..  (son  of  Samuel 
Fisher,  D.  D..  Moderator,  1838),  born  Morristown,  N.  J., 
April  5,  1814 ;  grad.  Yale,  1835 ;  student  in  Princeton  and 
Union;  pastor  West  Bloomfield  N.  J.,  1839-43:  Albany,  N.  Y., 
1843-7;  Cincinnati.  1847-58;  President  Hamilton  Coll..  1858- 
(;7;  pastor  Utica.  N.  Y..  1807-71;  died  College  Hill.  O.,  Jan. 
18.  1874.  D.  D..  Miami.  185-i ;  LL.  D.,  Univ.  N.  Y..  1866. 
.\uthor.  Three  Temptations,  Occasional  Sermons  and  Ad- 
dresses. 


DISCI  SSIOX    ON    SL.iniRV.  1:50 

t-arlier  staj^^es  (if  tliat  fjrcat  spiritual  awakening  which 
hke  a  gale  from  heaven  swe])l  over  the  land  during 
tliat  \ear.  and  its  deliberations,  even  at  p(Mnts  where 
controversy  was  waged,  were  calmed  and  hallowed  by 
that  gracious  visitation.  Tlie  ()rdinar\  business,  such 
as  the  erection  of  synods  and  presl)yteries.  the  review 
of  records,  fraternal  correspondence,  was  transacted 
with  despatch.  ( )ne  item  of  interest  was  the  approval 
of  the  t'resbyterian  Historical  Society,  as  a  joint  asso- 
ciation of  several  Presbyterian  communions,  and  an 
ag^reement  to  share  in  a  proposed  commemoration  of 
the  reunion  of  the  two  historic  Synods,  in  1758.  after 
seventeen  years  of  separation.  The  subject  of  clnu'ch 
extension  in  its  four  branches  or  departments  was  the 
matter  of  chief  interest,  l-'ull  reports  on  various  sec- 
tions of  the  home  missionarv  work,  on  church  erec- 
tion, on  publication,  and  on  education  for  the  ministry^ 
the  latter  accompanied  b\'  a  ])lea  for  aiding  students 
in  their  theological  training,  were  considered  and  acted 
upon,  and  various  measures  to  increase  the  efficiency 
of  these  departments  were  discussed.  Their  great 
value  to  the  Church  was  now  assured.  IJoth  in  the 
Xarrative  and  elsewdiere  the  growth  of  a  healthful  de- 
nominational feeling  is  mentioned  as  a  direct  con- 
sequence of  the  establishing  and  etYective  action  of 
these   ecclesiastical    instnmientalities. 

The  one  painful  event  in  the  Assembly  was  the 
protracted,  bitter,  disastrous  debate  on  slavery  and  the 
responsibility  of  the  Church  concerning-  it.  Several 
memorials  brought  up  the  subject  in  forms  which 
seemed  to  demand  not  only  thorough  discussion,  but 
some  decisive  and  final  result.     The  deliverance  at  last 


140  ORG.AX/ZATIOX  AND  AOrANCE. 

adopted  on  one  side  admitted  that  slaveholding  was 
not  in  all  possible  cases  an  offence  calling'  for  discipline, 
and  expressed  sympathy  with  all  those  who  were 
doing  what  lay  in  their  power  for  the  bodily  and  spir- 
itual welfare  of  persons  held  by  them  in  bondage  imder 
existing  law.  On  the  other  side  it  affirmed  anew  the 
numerous  declarations  made  by  Synods  and  Assem- 
blies from  the  lieginning.  in  condemnation  of  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery  as  it  actually  existed  in  the  South. 
In  the  next  place  it  affirmed  the  right  of  the 
Assembly,  acting  under  the  Constitution,  not  only  to 
bear  general  testimony  against  this  gigantic  moral  as 
well  as  public  evil,  but  also  to  take  orderly  measures 
for  the  cleansing  of  the  Church,  even  through  processes 
of  discipline,  from  all  contamination  with  that  evil. 
There  can  be  little  doubt,  that  this  deliverance  was 
abstractly  right,  even  at  the  debated  point  of  judicial 
jurisdiction,  but  the  practical  issue  it  involved  was 
the  issue  of  disruption.  The  protest  of  the  minor- 
ity challenged  the  jurisdiction  claimed,  and  held  that 
the  exercise  of  authoritv  as  proposed  was  contrary 
to  the  organic  law  of  the  Church,  in  itself  unrighteous 
and  oppressive,  degrading  to  the  southern  churches 
and  membership,  and  one  which  carried  with  it  virtual 
excision.  Their  cause  was  greatly  damaged  by  at 
least  an  implied  affirmation  that  slavery  was,  as  one 
presbytery  had  openly  averred,  an  ordinance  of  God, 
justified  by  biblical  precept  and  example,  and  in  itself, 
notwithstanding  occasional  wrong  done,  rightful  and 
worthy.  The  adoption  of  the  deliverance  by  a  majority 
of  more  than  six  to  one  was  a  decisive  conclusion  of  the 
whole  controvers}-.     Nothing  was  left  to  the  protesting 


CHLKCH    SOLTU    SHClil )ING.  141 

minoritv  but  to  suhniit  to  the  judicial  iuvcstitjation 
proposed  —  which  could  have  ended  in  nothing^  short 
of  disintegration  within  the  section  of  the  Church 
which  they  rei)resente(l,  or  to  withdraw  in  sorrow  from 
the  comnnuiion  of  which  for  twenty  years  they  had 
been  a  valuable  part. 

It  will  alwavs  be  a  (piestion  whether  it  was  wise 
for  the  younj^  Church,  with  so  many  i)ractical  ])rob- 
lenis  at  hand  callino-  for  early  solution,  with  so  many 
other  difficulties  besetting  it.  to  carry  on  for  twenty 
years  in  every  Assembly  from  first  to  last  so  distract- 
ing and  divisive  a  discussion  as  that  which  slavery 
elicited. — whether  the  successive  judgments  and  meas- 
ures were  all  constitutional,  '.'quitable.  considerate 
enough  in  view  of  all  the  ditficulties  developed.  — 
whether  the  assumption  of  authority  by  the  later 
Assemblies  did  not  resemble  too  closely  the  course 
and  action  of  1837.  —  whether  it  would  not  have 
been  better  to  refrain  at  last  from  a  disciplinary  pro- 
ceeding which  could  have  no  ])ossible  issue  but  division 
and  separation.  There  is  also  room  for  the  antithetic 
query  whether  the  general  sentiment  in  the  Church 
did  not  compel  such  discussion  and  action. —  whether 
the  defense  and  advocacy  of  slavery  by  the  separatists 
was  not  a  flagrant  error  which  could  not  be  condoned, 
—  whether  their  extrusion  was  not  necessarv  to  the 
unitv  and  peace  of  the  denomination.  —  and  whether 
on  the  other  hand  it  would  not  have  been  wiser  for 
them,  for  the  Church,  for  the  country,  if  thev  had 
chosen  to  al)ide  in  a  connection  and  fellowship  griev- 
ous at  one  point,  but  so  beneficent  in  manv  other  ways. 
Rut  whatever  may  be  the  right  answer  to  such  ques- 


142  ORGAXIZATIOS  AND  AUl'ANCE. 

tionings.   the   sad   result   is   a  matter  of   history   now. 

In  a  convention  called  by  the  protestants  and 
others,  held  during  the  year  at  Richmond.  \'a.,  the 
withdrawal  became  a  settled  fact,  and  the  United 
Svnod  of  the  I'resbyterian  Church  —  as  it  was  called 
—  was  duly  organized  as  an  independent  denomina- 
tion, substantially  on  the  ecclesiastical  basis  defined  in 
the  i)rotest.  And  when  the  Assembly  of  1858  met, 
six  synods,  with  twenty-one  presbyteries,  located  in 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee.  Missouri  and  Missis- 
sippi, and  comprising  285  churches  with  16,137  mem- 
bers, were  unrepresented.  In  receiving  the  accredited 
delegate  of  the  Synod,  the  .\ssembly  formally  declared 
its  regret  at  the  separation,  deplored  the  loss  of  oppor- 
tunitv  for  nuitual  aid  and  encouragement  in  the  one 
great  work  in  which  all  were  engaged,  and  expressed 
the  hope  that  all  parties  might  ultimately  become  of 
one  mind  touching  slavery,  as  they  were  on  so  many 
other  moral  and  religious  as  well  as  doctrinal  and 
ecclesiastical  matters.  But  the  rupture  had  become 
irrevocable.  The  names  of  the  synods  and  presbyteries 
were  retained  on  the  roll,  but  in  1859  and  thereafter 
the  places  of  their  commissioners  remained  vacant. 
The  ominous  clouds  of  civil  war  were  already  filling 
the  political  skies,  and  when  the  dark  era  of  conflict 
began,  all  possibility  of  union  was  gone.  A  portion 
of  the  synod  of  Missouri  retained  its  allegiance,  but 
the  other  synods  continued  in  their  independence  until 
a  few  years  later  when  they  united  with  a  similar 
body  of  separatists  from  the  Church  O.  S.  in  forming 
what  is  known  as  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church. 

It  is  pleasant  to  turn  from  this  sad  story  of  con- 


./    RHinAl.   ERA.  14:{ 

rtict  and  rupture,  to  contemplate  the  extensive  spirtual 
reviving-  which  s\vej)t  over  tlie  country  just  at  this 
juncture  and  in  which  the  Cluirch  shared  largely.  The 
Narrative  of  iH^cS  descrihes  in  brief  the  origin  of  this 
remarkable  awakening,  enumerates  its  chief  character- 
istics and  the  specific  instrumentalities  employed,  and 
testifies  that  every  presbytery  and  almost  every  church 
in  the  denominaticMi  had  shared  in  the  heavenly  visita- 
tion. It  speaks  of  the  results  already  gathered,  the 
statistical  report  showing  no  less  than  9.128  aiklitions 
to  the  churches  on  profession  of  faith,  and  of  the 
happy  influences  flowing  in  upon  the  Church  in  many 
ways  through  this  gracious  experience.  It  also  speaks 
of  the  work  as  still  going  on.  and  expresses  the  hope 
that  what  has  been  enjoyed  is  but  the  inauguration  of 
a  grand  revival  era.  The  Narrative  of  1859  testifies 
in  terms  equally  glowing  to  the  blessing  that  had  come 
upon  the  churches,  in  an  elevated  type  of  piety,  in 
greater  pra^erfulness  and  activity  among  church 
members,  in  family  religion,  in  benevolence  denomi- 
national and  voluntary,  and  in  the  addition  of  10.705 
persons  on  profession  of  their  faith.  Well  mav  that 
Narrative  say  :  Taking  the  two  years  together  we  may 
record  with  profound  gratitude  to  ( iod  the  displav  of 
his  grace  with  unprecedented  power  over  our  whole 
Church,  in  which  city  and  country  alike  rejoice,  and 
the  full  effects  of  which  will  be  known  only  when 
time  shall  end. 

The  Assembly  of  1858  was  convened  at  Chicago, 
specially  in  the  interest  of  that  vital  work  of  church 
extension    on    which    the   denomination    had    now    en- 


144  ORGAXIZATIOX  AM)  ADTANCE. 

tered  so  heartily,  and  on  whose  development  particu- 
larly in  the  West  since  the  southern  door  had  heen 
closed,  its  future  was  seen  to  he  very  largely  depend- 
ent. The  Assembly  of  1859,''=  met  at  Wilmington, 
Del.,  almost  on  the  southern  border  of  the  denomi- 
national domain.  —  probably  in  the  hope  of  regaining- 
some  proportion  of  those  who  had  withdrawn  two 
years  before,  jjarticularly  in  \  irginia  where  several 
leading  minds  had  shared  actively  and  sympatheticallv 
in  the  movements  and  work  of  the  Church,  from 
1837  onward,  and  where  the  strongest  among  the 
withdrawing  synods  was  located.  To  the  ordinary 
routine  in  the  two  Assemblies  no  special  attention  is 
requisite.  In  1858  two  judicial  cases  comiuanded 
marked  interest.  i)articularly  one  which  involved  a 
serious  and  practical  issue  respecting  marriage  and  di- 
vorce, —  the  Assembly  adding  to  its  decision  an  earn- 
est plea  for  the  sacredness  of  the  marriage  bond,  and  a 
solemn  protest  against  extending  beyond  the  clear 
warrant  of  Scripture  the  grounds  of  divorce.  Another 
item  of  interest  was  the  discussion  respecting  the  pre- 
j^aration  of  a  summar\-  of  Christian  doctrine,  to  be 
used  especially  in  the  adiuission  of  members.  Such  a 
summary   was  i:)repared  and   reported  and   referred  to 


*  The    presiding    officers    were    in     1858.    Matthew     L.     P. 
Thompson,    D.   D.,   and  in    18.')!t.   Robert   W.    Patterson    D    D 
LL.   D. 

Robert  Wilson  Patterson,  D.  D..  LL.  D.,  born  in  Blount 
Co.,  Tenn..  Jan.  L>1.  1814;  grad.  Illinois  Coll.,  1837;  Lane, 
1841  ;  pastor  Chicago.  1842-73.  Prof,  of  Christian  Evidences, 
McCormick  Seni..  1873-81 ;  President  Lake  Forest  Univ., 
187()-8 ;  Lecturer  on  Evidences,  Lane  Sem.,  1881-4.  Died, 
Evanston.  Ills..  Eel).  28.  1894.  I).  D..  Hamilton.  1856:  LL.  D., 
Lake  Forest  Univ. 


DEXOMIX.ITIOXAL    GROW  TIL  145 

tlie  presbyteries  for  consideration,  l)ut  the  summary 
was  never  adopted,  —  probably  because  it  was  deemed 
inexpedient  to  take  any  step  that  mii^ht  seem  to  implv 
an  indifference  to  the  existinj^  standards  of  faitli. 

r.oth  Assembhes  were  chieHy  occupied  witli  the 
work  of  (k-nominational  devekipnieiit  in  its  four  main 
departments.  In  respect  to  home  missions  there  was 
said  to  be  much  encouragement  as  to  both  contribu- 
tions to  the  cause  and  tlie  measure  of  success  actually 
reached.  The  growing  difficulty  in  adjusting  this 
work  to  that  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Am.  H.  M.  So- 
ciety was  recognized,  and  careful  effort  was  made  to 
guard  as  far  as  possible  against  collision  or  conflict 
between  the  two  kinds  of  administration.  In  respect 
to  theological  education  it  was  declared  that  a  large 
increase  of  the  ministry  \yas  indispensable  to  success 
in  the  yast  home  missionary  field,  and  that  such  in- 
crease could  be  secured  only  through  the  practical  sup- 
port of  the  plan  devised  by  previous  Assemblies.  In 
view  of  the  urgent  need  of  laborers,  pastors  were  ex- 
horted to  make  use  of  lay  talent  .so  far  as  this  could 
be  consistently  done.  Encouraging  reports  were  pre- 
sented respecting  both  church  erection  and  publication, 
and  the  larger  use  of  the  issues  of  the  latter  agency 
in  both  church  and  family  was  urged.  The  Assem- 
bJies  declared  their  continued  fealty  to  the  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  counselled  the 
churches  to  contribute  more  freely  to  the  treasury  of 
that  Hoard,  it  being  agreed  that  missionaries  are  at 
liberty  to  organize  presbyteries  in  their  several  fields  so 
far  as  this  is  found  to  be  advisable. 

With  the  adjournment   of  the   Assembly   of   1859, 


140  ORGAXIZATIOX  AMD  ADVANCE. 

the  second  era  in  the  Hfe  of  the  Church  may  be  re- 
garded as  closed.  The  era  had  been  begun  in  the  pres- 
ence of  much  outward  obloquy  and  opposition ;  the 
Church  had  done  little  more  than  maintain  its  exist- 
ence amid  the  wrench  and  pains  of  the  Disruption. 
Inwardly  it  was  suffering  greatly  from  the  lack  of 
anything  resembling  corporate  consciousness,  from 
smallness  of  resources,  from  incomplete  and  inefifec- 
tive  organization.  It  was  an  infantile  rather  than  a 
matured  denomination,  and  its  title  to  a  place  among 
the  various  evangelical  communions  had  hardly  been 
recognized.  But  now  the  diffitulties  in  the  path  of 
progress,  both  external  and  internal,  though  still  in  a 
measure  present,  had  been  largely  overcome.  The  de- 
nominational instinct,  desire,  purpose,  had  grown 
steadily  although  slowly,  and  were  now  vigorous  and 
absorbing.  The  unifying  bond  and  solvent  had  been 
found  in  the  movement  for  church  extension,  and  the 
organizing  of  the  four  practical  helps  for  the  attain- 
iuR"  of  that  cherished  end.  Though  the  body  had  be- 
come widely  scattered  in  area  and  had  sutYered  from 
the  lack  of  practical  contact,  section  with  section,  still 
its  parts  and  members  had  become  knit  together  with 
the  passage  of  the  years,  and  a  measure  of  just  de- 
nominational pride  and  ambition,  hardly  adequate  in- 
deed vet  strengthening  continually,  now  moved  it  on 
with  vigor  toward  what  it  believed  to  be  a  grand  con- 
tinental mission. 

One  singular  fact  remains  to  be  mentioned.  Dur- 
ing the  three  vears  just  now  considered,  an  aggregate 
of  25,391  persons  had  been  added  to  the  churches  on 
profession  of   faith,   and  during  the  entire   decade  as 


STATISTICS.  147 

many  as  65,820  —  an  annual  average  of  more  than  six 
thousand  five  hundred  new  communicants.  During 
the  same  period  47,728  had  been  received  by  letter,  a 
considerable  percentage  of  whom  inust  have  come 
from  other  denominations.  Yet  the  astonishing  fact 
is  that  the  roll  of  membership  at  the  end  of  the  decade 
was  somewhat  smaller  than  at  the  beginning.  De- 
ducting the  loss  of  the  six  southern  synods  with  a 
membership  of  16,137,  how  is  the  enormous  shrink- 
age of  the  roll  to  be  explained  ?  On  natural  grounds 
such  as  death  or  migration  it  is  inexplicable.  Xo  seri- 
ous controversy  as  to  doctrine  or  sacrament  or  order, 
no  destructive  heresy  or  violence  of  faction,  can  be 
found  to  explain  it.  Did  the  prolonged  discussions 
respecting  slavery  lead  to  the  secession  or  withdrawal 
of  many  in  the  northern  sections  of  the  Church  ?  Dur- 
ing the  revival  excitements  were  many  enrolled  who 
never  were  Christians,  and  who  in  more  quiet  seasons 
dropped  off  from  the  churches,  as  untimely  blossoms 
are  blown  away  in  springtime?  Were  the  attractions 
of  the  two  strong  communions,  largely  occupying  the 
same  territory  and  in  some  sense  rivals,  eager  to  in- 
crease their  numbers  and  strengthen  their  footing  in 
the  country,  powerful  enough  to  draw  away  such  mul- 
titudes from  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  ?  Were 
many  hundreds  of  names  dropped  from  the  rolls  year 
after  year  in  ways  not  authorized  by  the  church  con- 
stitution ?  Can  it  be  presumed  that  the  annual  reports 
of  accessions  coming  from  the  churches  and  presby- 
teries were  far  above  rather  than  below  the  actual 
aggregate?  In  whatever  direction  we  turn,  the  start- 
ling problem  seems  insoluble. 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

Maturity  and  Consummation. 
1860-1869. 

With  the  dawning;  of  the  third  and  final  decade 
in  its  history,  the  Church  passed  beyond  the  stages  of 
infancy  and  of  youthful  development,  and  entered  on 
an  interesting  though  brief  period  of  maturity  and 
of  marked  efficiency  and  influence.  The  four  original 
synods  located  in  two  States  had  increased,  prior  to 
the  withdrawal  of  the  southern  section,  to  twenty-six 
synods,  with  one  hundred  and  fourteen  presbyteries, 
distributed  through  fifteen  States  including  distant 
California.  .Mthough  in  tliat  secession  it  had  lost  five 
States,  with  six  synods  and  about  twenty  presbyteries, 
it  had  not  been  seriously  weakened  in  either  members 
or  resources :  it  had  in  fact  been  strengthened  by 
some  compensating  advantages  especially  in  the 
farther  West.  Though  it  had  not  increased  appreci- 
ably in  numbers,  it  had  developed  greatly  in  constitu- 
tional capabilities  and  in  its  machineries  for  practical 
work  along  all  lines  of  religious  effort.  Those  who 
had  been  leaders  in  its  organization  and  earlier  de- 
velopment, such  men  as  Richards  and  Beman  and 
Fisher,  Sen.,  and  Beecher  and  Dickinson,  Cox  and  Hay 
and  Mason  and  Gilbert  and  others  of  like  ability  — 
not  to  mention  by  name  noble  elders  such  as  Judges 
Jessup  and  Haines  and  Hornblower,  and  others,  men 
conspicuous  in  civil  life  as  well  as  in  church  affairs  — 
had  either  already  passed  or  were  now  passing  through 
the    vallev    of    age    and    infirmity    into    the    rest    and 


.ISSHMBLY    OF    j86o.  149 

felicities  oi  heaven.  lUit  there  remained  a  still  larger 
group  of  men,  hotli  ministers  and  elders  who,  stimu- 
lated bv  such  examples  and  trained  under  such  guid- 
ance, were  ([uite  coni])etent  to  lead  the  Ihurch  forward 
into  another  era  of  vigorous  life  and  of  fruitful  service. 
Meanwhile  many  particular  churches  had  grown  from 
weakness  into  strength;  pecuniary  resources  had  lieen 
accumulating  with  the  years;  educational  institu- 
tions and  ])rovisions  had  multiplied  or  matured;  and 
notwithstanding  much  hindrance  the  denominational 
zeal  and  diligence  had  been  healthfully  intensified. 
And  thus  in  various  aspects  the  way  was  now  opening 
attractivelv  for  a  strong,  worthy,  fruitful  career. 

The  new  decade  was  to  be  marked  by  two  especial 
and  momentous  events,  the  Civil  War  with  al!  its 
serious  bearings  on  the  denominational  life  and  work, 
and  the  Church  I'nion  with  its  various  movements 
and  stages  ending  in  the  consummation  of  November. 
1869.  The  first  of  these  events  involved  in  several 
ways  the  intricate  problem  of  the  relations  between 
the  Church  and  the  State  and  Nation.  The  second 
involved  the  equally  intricate  problem  of  the  rela- 
tions between  the  two  Churches  which,  though  hold- 
ing the  same  system  of  doctrine  and  the  same  polity 
and  name,  and  occupying  in  the  main  the  same  terri- 
tory, had  now  for  more  than  twenty  years  been  living 
out,  not  without  competition  and  conflict,  an  independ- 
ent and  in  some  degree  an  adverse  life.  These  two 
events  naturally  divide  the  decade  into  two  shorter 
periods,  the  first  extending  to  the  close  of  the  War, 
and  the  second  to  the  happy  hour  of  organic  Union. 

The  Assemblv  of  i860  was  convened  at  Pittsburgh, 


150  MATI'RITY  AXD  CONSI'MMATIOW 

and  liavini^  elected  Thornton  A.  Mills,  D.  D..*  as  its 
Moderator,  entered  with  vigor  on  the  discharge  of  its 
appointed  duties  as  the  su])reme  judicatory  of  the  de- 
nomination. The  representation  of  the  Church  was 
large  and  uniform,  the  southern  section  excepted,  and 
the  temper  of  the  hody  was  earnest  and  resolute, 
though  the  ahsence  of  delegates  from  the  south  cast 
its  sad  shadow  cn'cr  the  convocation.  The  work  of 
church  extension  in  its  four  main  branches  was  the 
chief  matter  of  interest  throughout  the  sessions.  The 
most  decisive  measure  was  the  determination  to  dis- 
solve the  partnershi])  which  had  so  long  existed  in 
the  work  of  home  missions  and  to  take  the  necessary 
ste]:)S  toward  independent  o])erations  in  that  vast  field. 
The  reasons  for  this  course  in  brief  were  the  increas- 
ing com])lications  and  embarrassments  of  the  ])artner- 
shi])  and  the  inabilit\-  to  effect  any  satisfactory  adjust- 
ment of  various  differences  on  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  the  paramount  right  and  duty  of  the  whole 
Church  to  care  immediately  for  its  weaker  portions  and 
members,  and  also  to  e.xtend  its  own  area  of  influence 
without  hindrance  in  all  sections  of  the  country.  It 
was  declared  that  this  determination  neither  involved 
any  break  of  faith  with  the  .\m.  II.  M.  Society  or 
rcHection  u])on  its  good  name,  nor  any  inclination  to 
interfere  with  the  ])lans  or  movements  of  Congrega- 
tional   Associations    eastern    or    western  ;v  and    these 


*  Thornton  A.  Mills,  D.  D.,  born,  Paris,  Ky.,  1810; 
grad.  Miami  Univ..  1830;  labored  in  Ky..  1833-6;  pastor  Cin- 
cinnati, 183(1-48:  editor  Watchman  of  the  Valley.  1848-53; 
pastor,  Indianapolis,  1853-6;  Sec.  Com.  on  Education  for  the 
Ministry.   1856.  till  his   death,  Jnne  19.    1867. 


LlliRCli    J:XTH.\SIOX.  151 

parties  wore  invited  to  snoli  fraternal  conference  as 
would,  it  was  lioped.  secure  wise  and  L'hristian  ad- 
justment of  the  wliole  matter  in  (|uestion.  Meanwhile 
the  committee  on  cliurch  extension  was  instructed  to 
prosecute  the  work  in  this  department  as  assifrned  to 
it  with  all  enerj^N .  It  is  sui^s^estive  of  the  hope  that 
this  work  might  still  he  carried  on  in  the  southern 
States,  that  a  resolution  forl)i<ldin<;-  the  s^rantiui;'  of 
aid  to  an\-  church  which  had  slaveholdin^:;  memliers, 
was  not  without  protest  voted  down  as  not  warranted 
under  the  constitution  and  as  at  variance  witli  Chris- 
tian e\])ediency. 

J'rovision  was  made  for  the  equitable  distribution 
amono^  the  several  synods  of  the  income  derived  from 
the  church  erection  fund,  and  yratifyini"  testimony 
was  o^iven  as  to  the  practical  benefits  secured  through 
this  fund  during  the  preceding  year.  While  progress 
was  reported  in  the  matter  of  ])uI)lication.  a  numl)er  of 
valuable  tracts  and  books  having  been  issued  during 
the  year,  it  was  said  that  a  ])ainful  lack  of  s\-mpnthv 
with  this  department  existed  in  the  churches:  and  the 
-Assembly  therefore  authorized  a  special  contribution, 
to  be  jjreceded  b\-  special  discourses  on  the  subject, 
and  also  an  effort  to  raise  an  adequate  working  capital 
for  future  use.  As  to  ministerial  education,  the  As- 
sem])ly  exjiressed  its  regret  that,  notwithstanding  some 
unusual  efforts  in  this  regartl,  there  was  no  perceptible 
advance  in  the  nu:nber  of  candidates  for  the  sacred 
office,  —  a  fact  especially  lamentable  in  view  of  the 
increasing  demand  in  both  the  home  and  the  foreign 
field,  and  strongly  urged  the  churches  to  greater 
prayerfulness  and  greater  generosit\-  in  behalf  of  this 


152  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

vital  interest.  After  hearing  a  report  of  conference 
with  the  representatives  of  the  American  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  tfie  Assembly  declared  its  undimin- 
ished confidence  in  that  agency,  disclaimed  all  purpose 
to  enter  upon  independent  work  in  the  foreign  field, 
referred  with  interest  to  the  approaching  jubilee  of 
the  Board,  and  enjoined  the  churches  to  give  it  their 
confidence  and  their  most  liberal  aid. 

Several  specific  questions  such  as  whether  adult 
baptism  should  be  administered  outside  of  the  visible 
church,  whether  a  formula  for  admission  to  church 
membership  should  be  framed,  whether  elders  should 
take  part  officially  in  the  ordination  of  ministers, 
whether  the  ministry  can  be  demitted  otherwise  than 
by  death  or  deposition,  elicited  somewhat  prolonged 
discussion,  but  were  all  decided  negatively.  The  As- 
sembly evinced  its  catholic  temper  by  uniting  in  a 
service  of  prayer  and  praise  with  the  General  Synod 
of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  by  its  corres- 
pondence with  the  Free  Synod,  and  by  appointing  a 
delegation  to  attend  the  Convention  to  be  held  in  Edin- 
burgh in  commemoration  of  the  establishing  of  Pro- 
testantism in  Scotland  three  hundred  years  before. 
The  Narrative  of  the  State  of  Religion  laments  the 
fact  that  the  spiritual  awakening  of  the  two  preceding 
years  was  apparently  abating,  but  speaks  of  some 
encouraging  indications  such  as  the  organizing  of 
new  churches,  the  erection  of  houses  of  worship,  the 
interest  shown  in  the  religious  education  of  the  yo\mg, 
and  in  pecuniary  contributions  to  the  various  interests 
of  the  Church.  The  statistics  show  a  small  advance 
in  membership  over  the  preceding  year. 


ASSEMBLY    OF    i86r.  153 

When  the  Assembly  of  1861,  met  at  Syracuse.  X.  Y. 
and  was  organized  by  the  election  of  Jonathan  B. 
Condit.  D.  D.,*  as  moderator,  the  aspect  of  civil 
affairs  had  undergone  a  fearful  change.  The  secession 
of  the  southern  States  had  begun.  Fort  Sumter  had 
fallen,  armies  were  gathering  on  one  side  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  L'ni(in  and  on  the  other  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  national  Capitol,,  and  the  tempestuous 
shadows  of  civil  war.  destined  to  grow  darker  and 
more  dreadful  in  the  coming  years,  were  already 
overspreading  the  land.  The  attendance  in  the  As- 
sembly was  large,  every  synod  and  all  but  five  of  the 
remoter  presbyteries  being  represented.  It  seemed  to 
be  realized  by  thoughtful  minds  throughout  the  Church 
that  a  dread  crisis  was  approaching  which  was  destined 
to  involve  not  merely  the  integrity  and  perpetuity  of 
the  Nation  but  also  the  welfare,  possibly  the  continued 
existence,  not  of  Presbyterianism  simply,  but  of  the  en- 
tire Church  and  Kingdom  of  Christ,  and  of  a  civiliza- 
tion based  on  evangelical  Christianity.  The  Church 
of  the  living  Ciod,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  Truth, 
was  the  appropriate  topic  of  the  opening  sermon. 

As  the  captain  of  some  stanch  vessel  would  hasten 
to  trim  his  craft  at  every  point  in  prospect  of  some 
dangerous  storm,  so  the  Assembly  gave  itself  with 
promptness  and  diligence  to  care  for  each  and  every 
denominational  interest  in  view  of  the  civil  agitation 


*  Jonathan  Bau^ey  Condit,  D.  D.,  born,  Hanover,  N.  J., 
Dec.  16,  1808;  grad.  Princeton  Coll..  1827.  and  Sem..  1830; 
pastor  Longmeadow,  Mass.,  and  Newark,  N.  J.,  1830-51 ; 
Prof.  Sac.  Rhet.  Lane  Sem..  1851-5 ;  same  in  Auburn  Sem., 
1855-1874.     Died  at  Auburn,  Jan.  1,  1876. 


154  MATCRITV  AXD  COXSUMMJTION. 

close  at  liaiul.  Eacli  of  the  four  department?  of 
church  extension  received  the  most  careful  considera- 
tion. The  claims  of  particular  churches  and  sections 
on  the  church  erection  fund  were  met  proportionally, 
so  far  as  the  income  of  the  fund  could  be  made  to 
reach.  The  importance  of  a  denominational  literature, 
authentic,  homogeneous,  reliable.  —  such  as  would 
command  the  interest  of  pastors  and  people,  was  de- 
clared to  be  a  .g^reat  desideratum,  and  the  committee 
in  charge  was  instructed  to  do  all  in  its  power  to 
provide  for  so  urg^ent  a  need.  A  more  elaborate  plan 
for  the  education  of  an  ade(|uate  ministry  was  adopted: 
an  act  of  incorporation  was  obtained  and  other  adjust- 
ments made,  in  the  hope  of  securing-  wider  interest 
and  greater  efificiencv  in  this  deijartment.  Reports 
were  heard  from  the  theolos^ical  seminaries  and  certain 
IVesbyterian  collejii'es.  and  these  were  commended  to 
general   confidence  and   support. 

In  resi)ect  to  home  missions  the  action  of  the  As- 
sembl\-  was  ])articularlv  sig'nificant.  The  committee 
on  church  extension  was  made  in  substance  a  perma- 
nent committee  on  home  missions,  with  a  definite  con- 
stitution, to  become  the  direct  and  sole  ao-ency  of  the 
Chiuxh  in  this  field  :  and  instructed  as  to  its  specific 
duties,  empowered  to  secure  leoal  incorporation,  and 
enjoined  to  administer  its  trust  with  impartiality, 
economy,  and  the  utmost  measure  of  eflficiency.  The 
churches  in  turn  were  called  upon  to  S'ive  the  com- 
mittee the  amplest  encourag^ement  and  support  in  the 
work  thus  defined.  Res])ectin_i^  foreio^n  missions  the 
Assembh-  ai^ain  recommended  the  American  Roard  as 
a    reliable   and   ade(|uate   ai^ency.   and    in   view   of   the 


rilR    CiriL    WAR.  155 

ui'iL^cncx  (it  its  work  and  of  its  tinaiu-ial  lU'cds.  earnestly 
fxliortcd  all  ministers  and  eini^rei^ations  to  .^ive  it 
liberal  sustenance.  Initial  steps  were  taken  toward 
inauiiuratinii  a  ])lan,  with  suital)le  endowment,  in  aid 
of  disabled  ministers  and  their  families.  The  subject 
of  systematic  beneficence  was  also  urj^ed  ui)on  the 
attention  of  the  whole  Church.  Xo  judicial  business 
or  other  constitutional  matter  of  much  moment,  with 
one  exception,  came  before  the  body.  In  view  of  the 
new  work  and  duty  likely  to  arise  out  of  the  inii)endin<; 
war,  the  liible  .Society,  the  Tract  Society,  and  als'j  the 
orj^anizations  in  the  interest  of  the  .Sabliath  and  of 
Temperance,  were  endorsed  witli  more  than  the  usual 
earnestness. 

l)Ut  over  and  above  almost  ever\thin<;'  else  the 
state  of  the  country  seemed  to  demand  supreme  con- 
sideration, with  a  view  to  such  action  as  it  mi|^ht 
be  suitable  to  take  by  reason  of  the  existint>^  conditions 
and  ])rospects.  As  a  result  of  the  deliberations  a 
formal  ])aper.  containing'  an  extensive  ])reanible  and 
resolutions,  was  ado])ted  without  audible  dissent, 
affirmiui;  the  just  claims  of  the  existino^  o()vernment 
and  jjled^iin^-  the  Church  to  positive  and  cordial  loyalty 
to  the  I'nion  in  both  principle  and  act.  It  was  de- 
clari-d  that  the  ])reservation  of  the  national  life  was 
indispensable  to  the  interests  alike  of  civil  liberty  and 
of  evangelical  religion,  and  that  those  to  wdiom  this 
solemn  task  was  si)eciallv  committed,  were  entitled  to 
the  sympathy  and  su]:)port  of  all  o^ood  citizens.  It  was-  , 
therefore  recommended  to  all  pastors  and  congreg'a- 
tit)ns  that  continuous  ])rayer  be  o'fifered  for  the 
President  of  the  Ignited   States,   for  Con^i^ress.   for  the 


156  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

General  commanding  the  army,  and  for  the  soldiers  in 
the  field.  And  inasmuch  as  slavery  was  regarded  as  the 
irritating  cause  of  the  war  impending,  the  Assembly 
repeated  its  preceding  testimonies  against  that  evil,  and 
counselled  that  prayers  be  offered  more  fervently  than 
ever  for  its  removal  from  the  land. 

Phis  solemn  deliverance  was  sent  to  I'resident  Lin- 
coln, and  the  Assembly  united  in  a  season  of  special 
supplication  for  the  country  and  its  rulers.  A  day 
was  also  nametl,  in  view  of  the  prospect  of  material 
and  moral  desolation  in  the  country,  to  be  set  apart 
as  a  day  of  united  fasting,  prayer  and  humiliation  be- 
fore God,  with  confession  of  national  and  personal 
sins  and   earnest   ])leading  that   He   would   even   now 

save  the  coimtrv  from  the  calamities  of  civil  war.     The 
■i 

efforts  of  the  Bible  and  the  Tract  Societies  in  supply- 
ing bibles  and  religious  literature  to  the  soldiers  in 
camp  and  field  were  strongly  approved.  The  Narra- 
tive for  the  year  recounts  but  little  of  special  moment 
in  the  spiritual  history  of  the  Church,  but  emphasizes 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  prevalent,  urges  watchful  inter- 
est over  those  who  have  entered  the  army,  and  ex- 
presses satisfaction  in  the  fact  that  the  denomination 
was  practically  an  unit  on  this  whole  subject  while 
some  other  religious  bodies  were  agitated  and  rent 
by  discussions  respecting  it. 

The  desolations  of  civil  war,  apprehended  by  the 
Assembly  of  1861,  were  only  beginning  to  be  realized 
at  that  date,  and  were  to  be  experienced  in  broader 
and  more  dreadful  forms  by  the  Christian  Church  in 
all   its   branches   as   well   as  bv   the   Nation   in   all   its 


THREE    SrHSEQfEXl'    V E.IRS.  157 

sections  (luriiii:;'  tlic  years  that  were  to  follow.  NDr 
were  the  Assemblies  of  i<S02.  1^63  or  1864*  permitted 
to  record  the  close  of  the  intestine  strife,  hut  the 
lather  found  themselves  almost  unendurahly  ])urdened 
by  its  continuance  and  1)\-  the  outward  disabilities  and 
the  spiritual  loss  induced  by  it.  It  is  surely  an  illus- 
tration of  the  vitality  and  strength  of  evanjrelical 
Christianity  that  none  of  its  re])resentative  commun- 
ions died  out  (lurin_e;  the  stress  of  the  war.  but  the 
rather  held  on  their  wav  with  so  much  of  patience 
and  courai^e,  and  came  out  from  tlie  struo^gle  at  last 
with  all  their  l)anners  unfurled,  and  with  an  unim- 
paired purpose  to  uphold  the  common  ( iospel  as  the 
divinely  ordained  savior  of  both  nation  and  people. 
The  three  Assemblies  went  on  with  their  work  as 


These  three  Asscmhlies  met  respectively  in  Cincinnati, 
Philadelphia,  and  Dayton.  Ohio.       Their  Moderators  were. 

1802.  George  Duffield,  D.  D.,  born  Strasburg.  Pa..  July 
4.  1794;  grad.  Univ.  Penn.,  1811;  licensed  1814;  pastor  Car- 
lisle. Pa..  1815-35;  Detroit,  1838.  till  his  death  June  2(i,  1868. 
Author  vol.  on  Regeneration.    Left  Mss.  of  vol.  on  Atonement. 

18(33.  Henrv  Bovnton  Smith.  D.  D..  LL.  D..  born 
Portland.  Me..  Nov.  21.  1815;  grad.  Bowdoin.  1834;  studied 
Theology  Andover.  Bangor  and  Germany.  1835-40 ;  licensed, 
1840 ;  pastor  West  Amesbury.  Mass..  1842-7 ;  Prof.  Mental 
and  Moral  Phil..  Amherst  Coll..  1847-50;  Prof.  Church  Hist. 
Union  Sem..  1850-4.  and  of  Syst.  Theol..  1854-74 ;  Prof.  Emer- 
itus and  Lecturer  till  his  death.  Feb.  7.  1877.  Editor  of  Amer. 
Theol.  Review,  Presbyt.  and  Theol.  Review,  and  Presbyterian 
Quarterly  and  Princeton  Review.  Author.  Chronological 
Tables  of  Church  Hist.;  Faith  and  Philoso(>hy ;  Introduction 
to  Christian  'Theol..  System  of  Christian  Theology,  and  a 
multitude  of  valuable  articles,  reviews  and  discourses. 

18<)4.  Thomas  Bkainerd,  D.  D.,  born,  Leyden,  N.  Y., 
Tune  17,  1804;  student  at  Andover;  pastor  Cincinnati, 
1831-7;  Phila.,  1837.  till  his  death  at  Scranton.  Pa..  Aug.  22, 
1866.  Author  of  Eife  of  John  Brainerd.  Assoc.  Editor  Pres- 
byterian  Quarterly. 


158  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

vigorously  as  possible,  and  with  a  fair  degree  of 
success.  In  1862  it  was  declared  that  the  salvation 
of  the  country  was  the  tirst  and  highest  duty  of  the 
■Church,  and  in  this  conviction  the  body  urged  all  its 
churches  to  contribute  liberally  to  the  cause  of  home 
missions,  counseled  both  diligence  and  economy  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  work,  pressed  the  task  of  exj)!or- 
ation  especially  along  the  frontiers  with  the  purpose 
of  planting  churches  wherever  these  were  needed,  and 
trailed  loudly  ft)r  ministers  suited  to  such  service.  In 
1863  the  Assembly  congratulated  the  Church  on  the 
measure  of  success  attained  in  this  department,  de- 
clared its  confidence  in  the  plan  of  independent  action 
and  in  the  wisdom  and  et^ciency  shown  by  the  com- 
mittee, asked  for  the  co-operation  of  every  synod  and 
every  presbytery,  and  called  again  for  both  means  and 
men  to  carry  on  the  growing  work.  In  1864  it  was 
said  that  the  diversity  of  feeling  and  counsel  respect- 
ing the  policy  of  the  Church  in  this  great  field  of 
Christian  activity  had  passed  away, —  that  the  receipts 
in  the  treasury  and  the  number  of  laborers  had  in- 
creased in  a  gratifying  ratio,  —  that  new  regions  were 
opening  in  the  distant  west,  far  beyond  the  capacity 
of  the  Church  to  supply  them.  —  that  some  sections 
■of  the  south  were  already  becoming  promising  fields, 
—  and  that  the  war  instead  of  diminishing  was  vastly 
augmenting  both  opportunity  and  responsibility. 

In  1863  and  1864,  the  subject  of  theological  educa- 
tion as  adjunctive  to  this  missionary  work  was  care- 
fully considered :  existing  difficulties  were  discussed 
and  objections  answered:  the  rules  were  revised  and 
new  provisions  and  adjustments  made:    the  necessity 


ORGANIZATION   COM  I' LET  ED.  139 

for  the  plan  in  hand  was  strongly  argued ;  and  pres- 
byteries were  exhorted  both  to  greater  care  in  receiv- 
ing candidates  tor  the  sacred  office  and  to  greater 
effort  to  secure  the  recjuisite  funds.  ( )n  the  whole, 
the  three  years  exhibit  a  gratifying  advance  in  this 
department,  though  the  cause  had  not  yet  gone  far 
beyond  the  stage  of  infancy.  The  story  of  the  other 
adjunctive  agency,  church  erection,  is  somewhat  sim- 
ilar, though  with  less  of  criticism  and  adjustment,  and 
a  fair  degree  of  success.  But  the  large  number  of 
exceptional  cases  presented,  the  incc^nsiderate  demands 
of  presbyteries  and  synods,  and  the  palpable  inade- 
quacy of  the  permanent  fund,  rendered  such  success 
less  extensive  and  thorough  than  it  might  have  been. 
The  fourth  agency,  publication,  is  represented  as  still 
struggling  with  special  difficulties,  yet  more  and  more 
proving  its  right  to  exist  and  its  value  as  an  effective 
aid  in  the  church  life. 

( )ne  new  agency  which  was  destined  to  grow  into 
popularity  and  usefulness  was  established  in  1864 
under  the  title  of  Provision  for  Disabled  Ministers, 
including  also  their  families.  The  strong  reasons  for 
such  an  agencv  were  recognized  bv  the  Assembly,  a 
tentative  plan  was  drafted,  contributions  were  sohcited 
from  congregations  and  individuals,  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  such  funds  was  placed  for  the  time  in  the 
hands  of  the  trustees  of  the  Presbxterian  House.  In 
1862  an  elaborate  report  on  systematic  benevolence,  as 
a  condition  essential  to  the  largest  success  of  the  vari- 
ous agencies  of  the  Church,  was  adopted  and  com- 
mended to  the  churches.  .\  proposition  to  establish 
new  missions  under  denominational  control  in  regions 


160  MATURITY  AX D  CONSUMMATION. 

not  occupied  by  the  American  Board,  though  strongly 
advocated,  was  decHned  on  the  ground  that  such  a 
step  might  imperil  the  cordial  relations  subsisting  be- 
tween the  Board  and  the  Church. 

The  matter  of  organic  union  with  the  Church  C).  S. 
was  considered  as  earily  as  1862,  but  while  regret 
at  the  separation  and  the  existence  of  cordial  feeling 
were  affirmed,  it  was  deemed  desirable  to  take  no 
action,  —  one  reason  given  being  the  possibility  of 
diverse  sentiments  and  judgment  respecting  slavery 
and  respecting  the  obligations  of  loyalty  to  the  govern- 
ment. In  1863  an  invitation  to  institute  fraternal  cor- 
respondence through  delegates  was  accepted,  and  the 
hope  was  expressed  that  this  step  might  lead  to  a 
better  understanding  of  the  relations  proper  to  be 
maintained  between  the  two  Churches.  In  1864,  a 
more  formal  declaration  was  adopted  by  unanimous 
vote,  welconu'ng  all  signs  of  returning  love  and  unity, 
suggesting  reasons  why  the  Churches  should  come  to- 
gether, and  expressing  a  readiness  to  enter  into  full 
and  cordial  union  on  terms  that  were  just  and  equal. 
It  may  be  said  here  that  the  withdrawal  of  the  southern 
section  from  the  Church  ().  S.  and  other  incidents  of 
the  war  probably  explain  these  conciliatory  actions  on 
both  sides. 

It  is  hardly  needful  to  advert  to  the  various  minor 
proceedings  of  the  three  Assemblies  :  their  position  on 
the  issues  involved  in  the  civil  war  is  in  fact  the  most 
sienificant  feature  in  their  history.  What  had  been 
said  and  done  at  the  outset,  in  1861,  had  determined 
substantially  the  attitude  of  the  Church  throughout, 
and   i)repared   the  way   for  all   the   succeeding  action 


I.OY.ILIY    or    I'fl/i    CIHRCII.  161 

\\Iiicli  sliiiK'S  so  hrii^litly  in  tlic  dciK  miinalioiial  records. 
Ill  each  of  the  three  years  the  dehveraiice  of  i86i  was 
repeated  in  elaliorate  and  emphatic  terms.  The  rif]jht- 
fuhiess  and  vahie  of  the  national  I'nion  and  of  the 
p^overnment  estabHshed  under  it.  tlie  wron^j  and  the 
crime  of  secession,  the  references  to  slavery  as  an 
institution  which  secession  had  been  orj^anized  to  sub- 
serve, the  horror  and  sin  of  civil  war  in  such  a  cause, 
were  all  set  forth  in  the  strongest  kui<^ua^e.  Expres- 
sions of  confidence  in  the  ]jrinci])les  and  purposes  of 
President  Lincoln  and  those  associated  with  him  in 
authority  were  heartil\-  adopted.  An  official  letter 
manifesting*;  the  sentiment  of  the  Church  was  addressed 
to  the  President  in  1862.  and  another  in  1863.  and  in 
1864  a  committee  was  sent  to  Washini^ton  to  express 
that  sentiment  in  person.  .Ml  ])astors  were  instructed 
to  read  these  deliverances  ,  on  the  Sabbath  to  their 
res])ective  cou'^ret^ations,  and  continual  jirayer  for  the 
countr\-  was  enjoined  upon  all  —  the  .Assemblies  settinj.;' 
the  example  by  re])eated  seasons  of  united  supi)lica- 
tion  and  stroma  cryins.^'  before  (iod.  X'arious  [)ractical 
measures  were  also  uroed.  such  as  carintj  for  the 
physical  wants  of  the  soldiers.  su])])lyinj>"  aid  to  the 
wounded  in  camps  and  hospitals,  securing^  the  services 
of  cba])lains  and  other  relii^ious  hel])ers.  providing" 
reli<^ious  literature  for  distribution,  contributing  gen- 
erousK-  in  every  way  calculated  to  sustain  the  ITnion. 
'i'he  Christian  Commission  and  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion, and  other  similar  agencies,  were  commended  for 
their  valuable  services. 

The    Narratives   of   the    State   of    Religion    during 
these  three  vears  reveal  the  disastrous  influence  of  a 


162  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

condition  of  doniestic  war  on  all  religious  interests 
and  movements  —  an  influence  illustrated  most  pain- 
fully in  several  particulars.  But  they  also  indicate 
that  the  deliverances  of  the  Assemblies  had  had  a 
marked  effect  in  the  development  of  patriotism  in  syn- 
ods and  presbyteries,  and  that  the  Church  everywhere 
was  standing  manfully  on  the  ground  so  defined.  It 
is  stated  that  large  numbers  of  communicants  had 
joined  the  armies,  and  that  many  of  these  were  show- 
ing themselves  true  Christians  and  loyal  men  even  in 
the  shock  of  battle.  It  was  also  said  that  in  view  of 
the  unexampled  exigency,  and  of  the  evils  specially 
induced  by  war,  such  as  intemperance  and  the  violation 
of  the  Sabbath,  many  churches  and  members  were 
thinking  and  feeling  and  praying  as  never  before. 
What  is  most  remarkable  is  that  many  revivals  of 
religion  are  reported  as  having  been  enjoyed  in  various 
presbyteries  during  these  years, —  14,719  persons  hav- 
ing been  added  to  the  churches  on  profession  of  faith. 
All  in  all.  the  position  of  the  Church,  as  thus  evidenced, 
was  one  of  steadfast  loyalty  both  to  the  country  and 
to  the  cause  of  religion,  and  its  course  throughout,  in 
both  directions,  was  one  of  which  American  Presby- 
terianism  may  well  be  proud  in  the  coming  ages. 

The  Assembly  of  1865,  met  in  Brooklyn,  and  was 
organized  by  the  choice  of  James  B.  Shaw,  D.  D.,  as 
Moderator.    The  civil  war  had  just  ended  in  a  final  vic- 


*  James  Boylan  Shaw,  D.  D.,  born  in  New  York,  1808; 
ordained  1834 ;  pastor  Utica,  1834,  and  later,  Rochester  for 
forty  years  till  his  death,  May  8,  1890.  D.  D.,  Univ.  of 
Rochester. 


ASSl-MHLV    or    rS63.  163 

ton  for  the  g'ovt'rnincnt  and  nation,  hut  the  jov  whicli 
such  an  issue  liad  excited  throughout  the  loyal  States 
had  lieen  greatly  lessened  hy  the  tragic  death  of  the 
IVesident  whose  wisdom,  patience,  courage  and  en- 
ergy had  made  thai  issue  possihle.  The  attendance 
was  large,  with  full  delegations  from  almost  everv 
presh\terv,  and  contained  an  unusual  proportion  of  the 
leading  minds  in  the  Church.  It  may  he  imagined 
that  the  regular  husiness  of  the  Assemhly  was  carried 
through  with  a  vigor  and  a  hopefulness  such  as  the 
restoration  of  peace  in  the  land  would  inspire. 

The  work  of  home  missions  naturally  received  the 
cliief  attention.  While  hoth  lahorers  and  contribut'ons 
had  increased  during  the  year  at  an  encouraging  ratio, 
it  was  realized  that  the  work  to  be  done  had  grown 
much  more  rapidly.  The  western  field  seemed  never 
so  inviting  or  the  call  from  the  frontiers  more  urgent : 
a  vast  empire,  it  was  said,  was  fast  growing  into 
greatness,  and  sanctuaries  and  the  ])reaching  of  the 
Word  and  other  evangelizing  agencies  were  needed 
everywhere.  Two  presbyteries  in  Tennessee,  with- 
drawing in  1857,  '1^^^^'  returned  and  were  received,  and 
a  synod  was  at  once  erected  in  that  State  as  a  step 
toward  the  establishment  of  the  Church  in  the  south- 
ern sections  of  the  Republic.  It  was  justly  felt  that 
the  fourteen  seceding  States,  devastated  and  prostrated 
by  the  ravages  of  war.  had  still  a  strong  claim  on 
all  denominations  in  the  North,  and  on  none  more  dis- 
tinctly than  upon  the  body  from  which  the  United 
Synod  had  withdrawn.  The  work  among  the  freedmen 
also  presented  itself  as  one  of  vital  moment  and  of 
great  urgenc\ .     .\nd  in  view  of  these  w^de  and  varied 


164  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

opportunities  the  Assembly  resolved  itself  to  under- 
take, and  also  to  summon  all  its  churches  and  member- 
ship to  help  in  carrying  forward  in  all  its  branches,  this 
supreme  work  of  home  evangelization. 

F)Ut  a  task  so  complex  and  so  great  could  not  be 
prosecuted  with  efficiency  without  the  aid  of  the  other 
three  administrative  agencies  of  the  Church.  The 
Assembly  therefore,  while  encouraged  by  the  increase 
of  candidates  and  contributions  reported,  and  by  the 
good  condition  of  its  theological  seminaries,  empha- 
sized afresh  the  loud  call  of  Providence  for  a  larger 
number  of  trained  and  devoted  ministers  to  meet  the 
expanding  need.  As  to  church  erection  it  was  said 
that,  the  hindrances  occasioned  by  the  war  being  re- 
moved, there  was  now  in  lioth  the  west  and  the  S'juth 
an  e.xtraordinarv  summons  for  hel])  in  building  houses 
of  worshi])  such  as  would  cheer  and  strengthen  the 
feebler  clnu'ches  everywhere.  Tlu'  ])eculiar  exigencies 
of  the  hour,  it  was  said,  also  called  u])on  the  Church 
to  print  and  scatter  abroad  more  freely  its  religious 
publications,  and  presbyteries  \yere  counseled  to  em- 
ploy ministers  or  other  colporteurs  in  this  hopeful  form 
of  evangelistic  service :  and  in  this  connection  the 
religious  ])a])ers  affiliating  with  the  Church  and  the 
(Quarterly  Review  were  strongl\-  commen<led.  The 
attention  of  churches  and  of  individuals  having  means 
was  directed  to  the  strai<.^hteued  circumstances  of  many 
disabled  ministers  as  calling  loudly  for  sympathy  and 
for  timely  aid.  The  claims  of  foreign  missions  were  said 
not  to  be  impaired  by  the  recent  events  or  the  great  need 
at  home,  but  were  declared  to  be  as  sacred  and  as 
urgent  as  ever.     Reference  to  other  important  action 


DECLARATIOX    OF    LOYAl.TY.  165 

on  kinclretl  linos  must  he  oiniltcd.  As  to  the  matter 
of  union  with  the  Church  (X  S.  the  Assembly  expressed 
its  gratitication  with  the  kind  spirit  manifest  and  with 
the  restoration  of  fraternal  relations,  and  also  its  gen- 
eral desire  for  organic  union,  but  queried  whether  the 
hour  for  consummating  that  union  had  really  come. 
The  action  of  the  Assembly  respecting  civil  affairs 
was  especially  important.  It  affirmed  anew  the  loyalty 
of  the  Church  to  the  government  and  the  Union,  con- 
demned the  secession  as  treasonable  and  fraught  with 
wrong,  declared  its  belief  that  the  hand  of  God  had 
been  manifest  in  the  overthrow  of  slavery  and  of  the 
confederacy,  and  expressed  the  conviction  that  in  its 
issues  the  conflict  which  had  cost  so  much  would 
prove  at  last  a  blessing  to  the  nation  and  to  the 
Church  of  ( iod  in  the  land.  It  declared  its  profound 
sorrow  over  the  death  of  President  Lincoln  whom  it 
pronounced  one  of  the  noblest  of  men  and  whose 
services  to  the  nation  it  held  to  be  above  all  valuation, 
spoke  of  its  tender  and  prayerful  sympathy  with  his 
bereaved  family,  and  pledged  to  his  successor  the  loy- 
altv  and  the  support  freely  given  to  him  during  his 
illustrious  administration.  It  also  avowed  its  sympa- 
thetic interest  in  the  loyal  people  of  the  south,  and  its 
desire  to  aid  them  in  the  trying  task  of  reconstruction. 
J  while  in  terms  now  seen  to  be  immoderate  it  declared 
the  course  of  those  ministers  who  had  encouraged  and 
justified  the  rebellion  in  the  interest  of  slavery  as  one 
of  the  most  astonishing  moral  perversions  to  be  found 
in  history.  It  emphasized  the  duty  of  all  to  care  foi 
the  wounded  and  destitute  soldiers,  and  for  the  widows 
and  orplians  whom  the  war  had  bereaved.     .As  to  the 


166  MATURITY  AXD  CONSUMMATION.' 

freedmcn  it  advocated  the  recoo^nition  of  tlie  rii^^lits 
of  citizenship  as  inhering  in  every  man  of  whatever 
class  or  complexion  who  had  been  true  to  the  country 
and  the  f^ag,  yet  admitting  that  there  might  be  honest 
difference  of  judgment  among  good  and  loyal  men  as 
to  the  immediate  conferring  of  such  rights.  The  Nar- 
rative for  the  year  reports  similar  sentiments  as 
prevalent  everywhere  among  the  churches,  speaks  hope- 
fully of  the  future  notwithstanding  much  current 
demoralization,  and  recounts  many  revivals  as  enjoyed, 
—  the  statistics  showing  an  addition  of  nearly  seven 
thousand  to  the  church  membership  on  profession  of 
their  faith. 

As  the  earlier  \ears  of  the  decade  were  largely 
engrossed  with  the  problems  i)recipitated  upon  the 
Church  by  the  Civil  War,  so  the  remaining  four  years 
in  its  history  were  to  be  chiefly  concerned  with  the 
absorbing  problem  of  ecclesiastical  Union.  In  the 
Narrative  of  Religion  for  1862,  the  general  position 
and  condition  of  the  Church,  at  the  end  of  the  quarter 
of  a  century  from  the  Disruption,  were  concisely  de- 
scribed, and  its  adequate  equipment  for  service  as  an 
independent  denomination  was  strongly  stated.  The 
three  subsequent  vears  had  furnished  practical  evidence 
on  these  points,  and  when  the  war  closed  and  the  way 
for  a  broader  development  was  providentially  opened, 
the  capability  of  the  Church  to  take  and  hold  such  a 
place  had  become  still  more  manifest.  Its  progressive 
zeal  had  been  somewhat  attempered  by  a  healthful 
conservatism  such  as  is  generally  evolved  in  the  process 
of  practical  activity,  yet  without  any  impairment  of  its 


THREE    SiCCEEniNC,    ASSEMBLIES.  167 

actual  cfificifiic\'.  It  had  lieconu-  mori-  lioinogeiKous, 
niort.'  compact,  ninrc  consciously  and  heartily  one, 
without  bc'inu:  stitTcncd  or  solidified  t'hrou^J^h  such  luii- 
fication.  It  had  fully  justified  its  claim  to  be  in  a 
worthy  sense  Calvinistic  in  doctrine  and  Presbyterian 
in  polity,  but  had  suffused  both  its  polity  and  its  doc- 
trine with  the  American  spirit  and  purpose,  and  had 
come  into  a  throbbing'  consciousness  of  its  mission 
as  a  representative  of  these  hij^h  (|ualities  before  the 
.'\merican  ]x'0|)le.  As  its  statistics  showed,  it  was  en- 
terine;-  upon  a  i)eriod  of  growth  more  marked  than  any 
in  its  earlier  history.  And  there  is  no  just  reason  to 
doubt  that,  if  it  had  chosen  to  continue  an  independent 
life,  it  would  have  held  indefinitely  an  honorable  place 
among  the  evangelical  communions  of  the  land. 

The  records  of  1866.   1867  and   1868*  which  may 
here  be   grouped  into  one  statement,    furnish  a  good 


*  The  Assemblies  for  these  years  met  respectively  in  St. 
Louis,  Rochester,  and  Harrisbiirgh,  and  tlieir  presiding  offi- 
cers were, 

186fi.  Samuel  Miles  Hopkins.  D.  D.,  horn  Geneseo, 
N.  Y.,  Aug.  3,  1818;  grad.  Amherst  Coll.,  1832;  Auburn  and 
Princeton  Sems..  1834-7  ;  pastor  Corning.  N.  Y.,  1839-43 ;  Fre- 
donia.  1843-0;  Prof,  of  Church  Hist.  Auburn  Sem..  1847,  and 
emeritus  Prof,  till  his  death,  Oct.  2f»,  1901.  D.  D..  Amherst, 
1854.     Author,  Manual  of  Church  Polity. 

18t)7.  Henry  Addi.son  Nelson.  D.  I).,  horn  .\niherst. 
Mass..  Oct.  31,  182(1;  grad.  Hamilton  Coll..  184(»:  Auburn 
Sem..  1843-(J:  pastor  Auburn.  184(1-56;  St.  Louis.  1856-68; 
Prof,  of  Theology  in  Lane  Sem..  18(i8-74;  pastor,  Geneva,  N. 
Y..  1874-8;  editor  of  Church  at  Home  and  Abroad.  1887-98; 
D.  D.  Hamilton  Coll..  1857.  .Author.  Scciiiii  .Icsus:  Sin  and 
Salvation. 

1868.  JoNATH.AN  F.  Stearns.  I).  I),,  born  in  Bedford. 
Mass..  grad.  Harvard.  1830;  student  in  .Andover  Sem.:  pastor. 
Newburvport.  1835-49;  Newark.  N.  J..  184!t  till  his  death. 
Nov.  11.  1889      D.  1)..  Coll.   New    Jersey.    1850. 


168  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

test  of  the  working  value  of  the  several  instrumental- 
ities or  agencies  already  described  through  which  the 
Church  with  the  return  of  public  peace  and  prosperity 
was  carrying  on  its  denominational  mission.  How- 
ever absorbing  the  movement  toward  Union  became 
during  these  three  years,  there  is  no  evidence  that  it 
led  to  any  cessation  in  church  activity  along  these 
chosen  lines.  The  work  of  home  missions,  always 
central,  went  on  with  undiminished  efficiency.  The 
Assembly  of  1866  strongly  declared  that  the  work  was 
great  beyond  conception  and  beyond  all  competition, 
that  the  Church  was  thoroughly  qualified  to  undertake 
it,  and  that  the  propitious  time  had  come.  Its  descrip- 
tion of  the  field  embraced  not  only  the  sustenance  of 
the  feebler  churches  and  the  exploration  and  occupy- 
ing of  the  wide  western  frontiers,  but  also  fraternal 
care  for  the  south,  the  freedmen  included,  and  evan- 
gelistic effort  among  the  numerous  immigrant  popula- 
tions. The  task  of  evangelizing  the  whole  country, 
laid  upon  the  Church,  was  said  to  call  for  a  large 
increase  of  faith,  lal)or  and  prayer;  and  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  gracious  influences  of  the  Spirit  in  many 
quarters  was  said  to  be  proof  that  the  endeavors  of  the 
Church  in  these  directions  were  accepted  and  blessed 
of  (iod. 

Tn  the  following  year  similar  reasons  for  encour- 
agement were  named,  full  confidence  was  expressed 
in  both  the  machineries  and  the  spirit  of  the  Church, 
and  two  new  fields  were  specially  commended  —  work 
among  the  Cierman  people  and  among  certain  Indian 
tribes.  In  1868  the  Church  was  again  called  to  ex- 
press its  thanksgiving  to  ( iod  ior  His  favoring  help 


CHLRCJl    irUKK    i'KUSrHRING.  169 

throuoiiout  tliis  liroadeiiini^  field  in  both  its  older  and 
its  newer  sections.  thouj:;^h  it  was  meanwhile  con- 
fessed that  neither  means  nor  men  sufficient  to  prose- 
cute sticcessfnllv  this  complex  task  had  been  obtained. 
The  dntv  of  caring'  for  the  higher  interests  of  the 
freedmen  as  to  both  religion  and  education  was  especi- 
all\-  urged  as  one  which  no  denomination  was  l)etter 
qualified  to  discharge  with  advantage.  The  detailed 
reports  of  the  home  mission  work  in  all  its  branches 
during  these  three  eventful  years  are  almost  thrilling 
in  the  multiplied  evidences  they  g:ive  of  the  gracious 
favor  of  God  granted  with  divine  freeness  to  the  in- 
dustrious Church. 

\Miile  the  records  of  the  other  church  agencies 
are  hardl\-  less  stirring,  only  the  briefest  reference  to 
tnem  can  be  introduced  here.  The  duty  of  providing 
an  educated  ministry  was  urged  from  year  to  year, 
and  with  a  good  degree  of  success  ;  practical  measures 
to  cultivate  interest  in  the  cause  were  proposed  ;  and 
in  1868  encouragement  and  admonition  were  blended 
in  an  earnest  appeal  for  liberality  and  pra\crfulness  — 
the  statistics  showing-  a  steady  though  not  large  in- 
crease in  the  roll  of  ministers  in  actual  service.  Some 
beneficial  chang^es  were  made  in  the  administration  of 
the  fund  for  church  erection,  but  the  fund  was  found 
to  be  quite  inadequate  to  meet  the  widening  need,  and 
further  contributions  were  called  for.  in  order  that, 
as  was  said,  a  suitable  house  of  worship  might  be  pro- 
vided as  a  Christian  home  wherever  a  church  was  duly 
organized.  The  value  of  the  agency  for  the  ])ublica- 
tion  of  denominational  literature  was  em])hasi7.e(l  in 
view  of  the  broadening  demand  ;    the  Church  Psalmist 


170  MATURITY  AXD  COX  SUMMATION. 

and  Presbvterian  Montlilv  and  otlier  issues  were  com- 
mended ;  the  need  of  suitable  literature  for  the  Sab- 
l)ath  school  was  more  than  once  urged  ;  donations  of 
books  to  home  missionaries  for  use  in  their  work  were 
authorized;  and  in  1868  this  ag'ency  was  particularly 
named  as  an  indispensable  help  in  church  development. 
Foreig'n  missions,  ministerial  relief  and  (jther  import- 
ant interests  were  in  like  manner  approved  and  com- 
mended. 

Thou£;h  enga£;;e(l  thus  earnestly  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  denominational  work,  the  state  of  the  country 
just  emergino^  from  the  War  and  the  duty  of  the 
Church  toward  the  Nation  in  such  trying  circum- 
stances, were  not  overlooked.  The  Assembly  of  1866 
adoi)ted  unanimously  an  elaborate  paper  on  this  sub- 
ject, which  was  ])resen.ted  to  the  President  and  to  the 
presiding  officers  in  Congress.  This  deliverance  ex- 
pressed great  satisfaction  with  the  ending  and  the 
results  of  the  War,  recognized  the  guiding  hand  of 
I'rovidence  throughout  the  fearful  conflict,  rejoiced 
in  the  temper  of  loyalty  developed  among  all  classes 
and  es]x>cially  in  the  grace  bestowed  on  the  clnirches 
and  ministry,  confessed  the  sinfulness  of  the  nation 
and  particularly  the  sin  of  slavery  whose  abolition  for- 
ever was  regarded  as  calling  for  devout  thanksgiving, 
petitioned  for  the  recognition  by  the  government  of 
everv  right  of  citizenshi])  which  might  properly  be 
granted  to  the  freedmcn,  and  finally  extolled  the 
Christian  religion  as  the  only  safeguard  and  chief 
glorv  of  the  Re])ul)lic.  Xo  nobler  document  than  this 
was  issued  at  this  juncture  by  any  branch  or  section 
of  the  Christian  Church. 


REMARKABLE    RELlClOrs    GROll'TIl.  171 

'I'lic  three  N'arralivcs  of  Rclii^ion  tor  the  \cars  here 
reviewed  are  interesting:^  and  ini])()rtant  as  J)ein^  in 
tile  main  atithentic  acconnts  of  the  condition  of  the 
C'hureh,  both  dutward  and  internal.  The  first  relates 
the  external  prosperitx  enjnyrd  hy  the  ehurches  gener- 
alh.  the  interest  shown  in  moral  reforms,  in  benevo- 
lence, in  the  religious  inslruction  df  youth,  and  specially 
the  revivals  enjoved  in  more  than  two  hundred  con- 
^g^reg'ations, —  descrihinij  in  general  the  prosperity  of 
the  Church  as  t^reater  than  in  any  ]>revious  period, 
its  hel])ful  a,e:encies  as  in  effective  o])eration,  its  stand- 
m^y  and  influence  in  the  country  increasing'  steadily, 
and  the  smiles  of  Providence  as  resting  upon  it.  Sim- 
ilar statements  were  made  in  1867  and  again  in  1868: 
th.'  latter  testifying  es])ecially  to  the  abiding  ])resence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  certified  ])\'  marked  revivals,  by 
advance  in  i)ersonal  ])ietv  and  in  Christian  activity, 
by  a  developed  church  life  and  better  ministerial  sup- 
port, and  by  ])ractical  interest  in  all  church  enterprises, 
particularlv  home  missions  and  missions  to  the  freed- 
nien.  The  significance  of  these  testimonials  becomes 
a])parent  in  the  remarkable  fact,  shown  in  the  statistics, 
that  during  the  three  years  34.433  persons  had  been 
received  into  the  churches  on  profession  of  faith.  Such 
an  accession  had  never  been  known  in  the  previous 
history  of  the  Church.  Well  did  one  of  these  Narra- 
tives say :  Looking  l^ack  over  a  few  years  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  very  remarkable  imprcjvement  has  taken 
place.  A  new  order  of  things  has  comiuenced.  The 
Church  has  received  a  new  baptism  from  on  high  and 
has  l)een  invigf)rated  with  new  strength  and  life.  We 
have   gf)tten    intti    com])lete    working   order.       Having 


172  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

,e:iven  u?  a  great  work  to  do,  God  smiles  upon  us  in 
doing"  it. 

Deferring  for  tlie  moment  reference  to  the  action 
of  these  three  Assenibhes  respecting  Union,  we  may 
turn  to  note  the  events  of  1869,  the  last  year  in  the 
independent  life  and  history  of  the  Church.  The 
Assembly  was  convened  in  New  York,  every  synod 
and  every  presbytery  but  that  of  San  Francisco  being 
represented.  The  Moderator  chosen  was  Philemon  H. 
Fowler,  D.  D.*  Though  all  minds  were  fixed  chiefly 
on  the  supreme  matter  of  organic  union,  the  usual 
business  was  vigorously  and  harmoniously  transacted, 
every  department  of  the  church  work  receiving  its 
proper  share  of  attention,  just  as  if  the  denomination 
were  to  continue  its  independent  life.  A  glance  or 
two  at  these  proceedings  must  suffice : 

The  cause  of  home  missions  was  carefully  consid- 
ered in  all  its  varieties,  —  the  rapidly  growing  west, 
the  feebler  churches  in  the  east,  city  evangelization, 
care  for  the  inflowing  tides  of  immigration  from  Eu- 
rope, provision  for  the  Chinese  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
The  general  call  was  declared  to  be  bewildering  in  its 
magnitude  and  importance,  and  the  force  of  nearly 
five  hundred  missionaries  in  the  great  field  was  said  to 
be  wholly  inadequate.     The  kindred  work  among  the 


*Philemon  H.\lsted  Fowler,  D.  D.,  born  Albany.  N.  Y., 
Feb.  9.  1814;  grad.  Hobart  Coll.,  1832  and  Princeton 
Sem.,  1836;  pastor  Washington,  D.  C.  1836-9;  Elniira,  1839- 
50;  Utica.  1850-74.  Died  Dec.  19,  1879.  D.  D.,  Williams 
Coll.  Author,  History  of  Presbyterianism  in  Central  New 
York. 


.ISS/iMBLV    OF    i86ij.  173 

frecdnicn  was  the  subject  of  a  special  report  in  which 
tlie  claims  of  these  needy  millions  were  earnestly  set 
forth,  and  a  general  i)lan  for  their  s])iritual  sup])l\' 
was  considered.  Church  erection  was  also  earnestly 
connnended  :  the  new  regulations  were  said  to  work 
well  in  actual  experiment :  larger  contributions  were 
called  for,  and  the  presbyteries  were  counselled  to 
exercise  careful  oversight  and  economy  ;  and  it  was 
said  that  every  dollar  given  to  church  erection  was 
ten  times  that  sum  saved  to  home  missions.  In  this 
connection  the  anticipated  I'nicMi  was  strongly  com- 
mended as  an  a.^sured  source  of  new  life  and  useful- 
ness in  the  broad  task  of  continental  evangelization. 
Substantial  advance  was  rei)orted  in  the  matter  of 
publication,  especialK  in  the  line  of  Sabbath  School 
literature  and  in  the  planting  of  Sabbath  Schools  in 
destitute  regions.  Enccmraging  reports  were  presented 
•in  respect  to  education,  to  ministerial  relief,  to  system- 
atic beneficence,  and  these  interests  were  urgently  com- 
mended to  the  care  of  ministers  and  churches.  ( )ther 
matters,  such  as  stability  in  the  pastoral  ot^ce.  the 
problem  of  unemjiloyed  ministers  and  vacant  churches, 
(|uestions  in  church  polity,  fraternal  correspondence 
with  Canadian  Presbyterians  and  other  communions, 
the  Kvangelical  .Alliance  and  Protestantism,  the  I^ncyc- 
lical  Letter  of  the  Papacy,  were  all  duly  considered. 
The  Xarrative  of  Religion  contains  various  illustra- 
tions of  the  prosjx-rous  condition  of  the  Church  at  this 
jimcture,  but  its  chief  significance  lies  in  its  account  of 
munerous  revivals  enjo\ed  and  of  large  accessions  to 
the  churches.  —  no  less  than  9.707  additions  on  ])ro- 
fession  being  re])orte(l  in  the  statistical  records.      The 


174  MATURITY  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

accessions  for  the  five  years  were  50,745.  and  the  net 
increase  for  the  jieriod  was  34,486  —  a  gain  ahnost 
equal  to  that  of  all  the  five  and  twenty  years  preceding. 
But  the  interest  of  the  Assenihly  was  centeretl  in 
the  matter  of  Union  ;  everything  else  was  considered 
in  its  relations  to  this  supreme  concern.  Prior  to  1866, 
the  action  on  this  suhject  had  heen  limited  to  a  friendly 
interchange  of  delegates,  to  the  expression  of  desire 
for  a  hetter  understanding  and  some  declarations  of 
cordial  regard,  and  to  an  assurance  of  readiness  to 
consider  organic  union  on  the  historic  basis  of  earlier 
Presbyterianism  as  soon  as  Providence  should  seem 
to  open  the  way.  In  that  year,  both  Assemblies  being 
convened  in  the  same  city,  more  decisive  steps  were 
taken.  In  the  Assembly  ( ).  S.  a  series  of  resolutions 
was  adopted,  containing  strong  assurances  of  regard, 
and  expressing  an  earnest  desire  for  organic  union  at 
the  earliest  moment  consistent  with  recognized  agree- 
ment in  doctrine  and  polity  ;  and  also  proposing  the 
appointment  of  a  joint  committee  to  confer  respecting 
the  desirableness  and  the  practicability  of  such  union. 
The  assurances  of  regard  and  the  desire  for  union 
were  cordially  reciprocated,  and  the  proposition  was 
accepted  by  the  appointing  of  such  a  committee  of 
conference,  under  instructions  to  report  to  the  next 
Assembly.  A  joint  religious  service  for  fellowship 
and  prayer,  and  also  a  joint  sacramental  service  were 
agreed  upon  and  cordially  observed.  It  was  further 
enjoined  upon  all  ministers  and  churches  to  abstain 
from  all  that  might  hinder  true  Christian  fellowship, 
and  to  seek  the  union  of  all  believers,  and  especially 
those  of  like  historv,  faitii  and  order. 


ORG.IXIC    rX/OX.  175 

In  i8()7,  a  basis  of  union,  containing'  certain  s})<'cific 
terms  which  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  joint  com- 
mittee, was  laid  before  the  Assembly.  —  the  proposal 
l^eing  accompanied  bv  an  elaborate  ])aper  in  favor  of 
union  as  soon  as  satisfactory  terms  and  conditions 
could  be  reached.  The  comse  of  the  committee  was 
thus  far  a])i)roved,  and  its  continuance  for  another 
year  was  agreed  upon.  It  was  also  deemed  wise  to 
submit  the  ]:)rojK)sed  basis  tentatively  to  the  considera- 
tion of  both  Churches  in  order  to  ascertain  what  modi- 
fications mij>ht  l)e  found  necessary  or  desirable.  — 
leaving  to  future  Assemblies  the  task  of  revisinp^  the 
basis,  so  far  as  needful,  and  of  submitting;  the  whole 
matter,  if  this  were  deemed  advisable,  to  the  presby- 
teries as  re(|uired  l)y  the  Constitution. 

In  1868.  the  joiiU  committee  presented  terms  of 
union  in  a  form  soiuewhat  modified  in  order  to  meet 
queries  and  objections  which  had  arisen,  and  strenu- 
ously urg-ed  the  desirableness  of  union  in  view  of  the 
rapid  expansion  of  the  countr\  and  the  wide  oppor- 
tunity conse(|uent.  of  the  baleful  growth  of  various 
forms  of  unbelief  and  of  corrupt  religion,  and  also  of 
the  salutary  influence  that  would  flow  forth  from  such  • 
union  upon  other  evangelical  communions.  Two  of 
the  terms  submitted  excited  earnest  dissent  in  the 
Assembly,  but  in  view  of  the  iiuportance  of  an  early 
settlement  of  the  whole  matter,  it  was  agreed  to  sub- 
mit the  basis  as  modified  to  the  presbyteries  in  the  form 
of  Overture,  —  together  with  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee by  way  of  ex])lanation.  The  Assembly  also 
accepted  the  report  of  a  committee  which  had  been 
appointed   by    the    two   Assemblies    to    investigate    all 


176  MATURITV  AND  CONSUMMATION. 

questions  of  property  or  of  vested  rights  which  might 
stand  in  any  way  related  to  the  question  of  union. 
P>oth  AssembHes  also  agreed  to  spend  a  certain  hour 
during  their  respective  sessions  in  special  prayer  for 
divine  guidance  in  a  movement  so  momentous. 

When  the  Asseml)lv  met  in  1869.  it  was  found  that 
the  Overture  had  been,  not  indeed  without  question- 
ings here  and  there,  almost  unanimously  approved  by 
the  ])resl)yteries.  —  but  four  voting  directly  against  it, 
chiertv  to  express  objection  to  one  or  more  of  the  par- 
ticular terms  contained  in  the  basjs  as  proposed.  But 
it  was  also  found  that  although  a  large  majority  of  the 
presbyteries  in  the  Church.  ( ).  S.  had  accepted  the 
basis,  with  several  modifications,  a  considerable  min- 
orit\-  was  adverse.  It  became  needful  therefore  either 
to  abandon  the  scheme  of  union  for  the  present,  or  to 
endeavor  b\'  further  conference  to  frame  a  basis  for 
wliicli  broader  nnanimitv  might  be  secured.  A  joint 
committee  was  a])iK)inted  for  this  purpose,  and  while 
this  committee  was  for  some  days  in  session,  friendly 
delegations  were  sent  from  each  .\ssembly  to  the  other 
bearing  assurances  of  mutual  regard  and  confidence, 
joint  services  for  praver  were  held,  and  social  gather- 
ings in  the  interest  of  closer  fellowship  were  enjoyed. 
This  committee  finally  presented  a  Plan  of  Reunion  in 
which  the  doctrinal  basis  was  stated  in  terms  more 
simple,  and  a  ])referable  mode  of  procedure  was  pro- 
posed ;  and  with  this  F^lan  a  series  of  what  were  termed 
Concurrent  Declarations  was  also  presented  as  a  prac- 
tical method  of  adjusting  various  details  involved  in 
the  general  Plan.  This  report  was  unanimously 
adopte<l  bv  the  Assembly,  and  with  but  small  dissent 


i'NION   ACCOMPLISHED.  177 

by  tho  otlur  .\sscin])ly  also,  and  1)\-  joiiu  agreement 
this  new  basis  was  overtured  to  the  presbyteries  in 
each  of  the  two  Clnirches  for  examination  and  for 
formal  acceptance  if  they  should  deem  this  advisable, 
- — the  vote  on  the  whole  subject  to  be  taken  at  an 
early  day.  In  the  expectation  that  their  decision  would 
be  favorable,  and  desiring^  that  the  union  mifjht  be 
speedily  consummated,  the  two  Assemblies  met  to- 
j^^ether  in  an  impressive  communion  service,  and  each 
a.ia:ree(l  in  recommending-  to  the  churches  under  its  care 
that  the  second  Sabbath  in  September  l)e  observed  as 
a  day  of  united  prayer  in  view  of  the  new  relations  con- 
templated. Anticipating  a  favorable  result  in  both 
Churches,  each  Assembly  adjourned  to  meet  in  the 
city  of  Pittsburg  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  the 
ensuing  Xovember. 

When  the  Assembly  met  in  adjourned  session  at 
the  time  and  place  designated,  various  matters  besides 
the  central  subject  of  union  claimed  attention.  Among 
these  were  an  im])ortant  deliverance  on  amusements, 
a  protest  against  the  exclusion  of  the  Bible  from  the 
public  schools  and  another  against  the  support  of  de- 
nominational schools  by  the  State,  a  suggestive  report 
respecting  certain  methods  of  F'resbyterian  Churches 
in  Great  F'ritain.  a  declaration  in  favor  of  the  union 
or  confederation  of  all  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
family  in  this  country,  and  resolutions  favoring  the 
erection  of  manses  wherever  practicable,  and  endors- 
ing the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society.  Special  action 
was  taken  in  respect  to  the  future  relations  of  the 
churches  to  the  .American  l^oard  of  I'oreign  Missions: 


178  MATURITY  A.KD  CONSUMMATION. 

certain  other  adjustments  were  made  in  contemplation 
of  the  immediate  union. 

As  to  the  union  itself  it  was  ascertained  that  each 
and  all  of  the  one  hundred  and  thirteen  presbyteries 
had  approved  the  basis  submitted  in  May,  and  that  in 
all  but  three  where  a  slight  negative  vote  had  been 
cast,  the  approval  liad  been  unanimous.  The  Assembly 
was  also  informed  officially  that  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  presbyteries  in  the  Church,  O.  S.  had 
approved  the  basis,  that  only  three  had  declared  against 
it,  and  that  thirteen,  chieflv  in  missionary  fields,  had 
taken  no  action.  It  being  thus  apparent  that  the 
judicatories  of  both  Churches  had  in  due  constitutional 
form  approved  the  measure,  the  Assembly  resolved 
unanimously  and  ])y  a  rising  vote  that  the  Basis  of 
Reunion  was  henceforth  in  full  and  binding  force, 
and  that  on  that  Basis  the  two  Churches  were  here- 
after to  be  one.  The  Assembly  was  then  formallv  dis- 
solved with  prayer  and  thanksgiving  and  the  apostolic 
benediction,  and  with  this  solemn  act  the  New  School 
Presbyterian  Church,  after  a  generation  of  conflict  and 
trial,  of  planning  and  labor  and  sacrifice  abundant,  of 
growth  and  maturing  and  success  divinely  bestowed, 
ceased  to  be. 


CHAPTER  SIXTH. 

The  Union  of  1869. 

The  General  Assembly,  representing  the  two  de- 
nominations now  united  in  one  Church,  was  convened 
in  1870.  in  Philadelphia,  the  ancestral  home  of  Ameri- 
can Presbyterianism.  It  was  by  far  the  most  important 
convocation  in  the  history  of  that  type  of  Protes- 
tantism on  this  continent.  The  numerical  contrast 
with  the  first  General  Assembly  which  also  met  in  that 
city,  and  which,  was  composed  of  only  twenty-two 
ministers  and  ten  elders,  representing  twelve  presby- 
teries, was  marked  indeed.  But  the  contrast  in  equip- 
ment and  resources  and  institutions,  in  knowledge  and 
experience  and  capacity  for  effective  service  in  the 
spiritual  field  which  during  the  intervening  period  had 
spread  out  in  such  various  forms  and  such  continental 
magnitude,  was  much  more  marked.  Compared  with 
the  Assembly  of  1837,  it  represented  twice  as  many 
ministers  and  members,  and  nearly  twice  as  many 
churches  and  presbyteries  as  that  body  contained  prior 
to  the  act  of  excision.  It  had  fifty-one  synods,  located 
in  as  many  as  eighteen  or  twenty  States  and  in  China 
and  India,  and  embracing  nearly  half  a  million  of  com- 
municants. And  well  might  those  who  shared  in  this 
memorable  convocation,  as  they  called  the  past  to  mind 
and  measured  the  promise  of  the  future,  rejoice  to- 
gether in  the  task  of  organizing  what  was  in  essence 
another,  a  new  and  grander  Presbyterian  Church. 

For  such  in  fact  it  was.  Neither  of  the  two  de- 
nominations   joined    the    other:     neither    received   the 


180  THE    UNION    OF    1869. 

other  into  its  communion.  One  did  not  return  to  the 
other  as  an  ancestral  home,  nor  did  one  admit  the  other 
as  a  sharer  in  an  inheritance  which  it  had  hitherto 
held  exclusively.  The  fact  that  one  had  retained  dur- 
ing the  disruption  the  archives,  properties,  heritages 
once  held  in  common,  gave  it  neither  priority  in  posi- 
tion nor  a  special  right  to  continued  life.  In  fact 
both  organizations  alike  ceased  to  be.  and  in  dying 
both  alike  gave  their  possessions,  their  endow^ments, 
their  all,  to  the  Church  that  came  into  being  in  and 
through  their  dissolution.  The  new  organization  was 
no  more  either  of  them  than  an  infant  is  one  of  the 
parents  that  united  in  giving  it  birth.  Xor  can  it  prop- 
erly be  said  that  that  organization  was  the  same  with 
the  Church  that  existed  before  the  separation,  ever 
since  the  convening  of  the  first  Assembly  in  1789:  for 
that  body  had  also  ceased  to  be  in  the  dark  catastrophe 
of  excision.  The  name,  the  polity,  the  standards  and 
doctrine  survived,  but  the  organism  that  maintained 
and  represented  them  became  extinct  in  that  unhappy 
process.  Its  traditions,  usages,  precedents,  historv 
were  well  preserved  as  precious  heirlooms  by  both  of 
the  Churches  that  succeeded  it  in  time,  but  neither  was 
or  could  properly  claim  to  be  that  historic  and  vener- 
ated communion.  What  came  into  existence  in  1870 
was  therefore  neither  an  absorption  nor  a  resurrection 
l)ut  rather  a  new  and  grander  Church,  through  whose 
veins  the  warm  ancestral  blood  was  flowing,  on  whose 
countenance  the  strong  ancestral  lineaments  were  trace- 
able, but  which  had  come  into  being  through  a  fresh 
generative  process,   was  endowed  with  a   life   largely 


ASSJiMBLY    OF    1870.  181 

indcpciuk'ul,  and  w  a.s  diviiioly  ordained  t\)r  a  broader 
and  nobler  work. 

Yet  tbis  new  IVesbyterian  C'burcb  was  not  only  to 
be  composed  of  materials  supplied  by  the  denomina- 
tions preceding  it  in  time  and  becoming  merged  in  it : 
it  was  also  solemtdy  bound  in  the  entire  process  of 
organization  to  bold  sacred  tbe  terms  and  conditions, 
all  and  singular,  which  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the 
two  dissolving  Churches  prior  to  the  act  of  union. 
The  last  will  and  testament  of  each  of  these  Churches 
was  in  its  hands,  and  this  was  to  l)e  executed  through- 
out with  the  same  fidelity  with  wdiich  a  faithful  son 
would  carry  out  the  wishes  of  his  deceased  parents. 
It  had  no  right  at  first,  neither  at  any  stage  in  its 
history  can  it  ever  acquire  the  right,  to  ignore  or  vio- 
late any  of  these  sacred  provisions.  No  new  discovery 
made  in  the  practical  task  of  organization  or  adjust- 
ment could  have  justified  it,  neither  can  any  discovery 
developing  itself  anywhere  in  the  future  justify  it,  in 
setting  aside  any  of  those  terms,  conditions,  covenants, 
on  which  either  of  the  denominations  relied  when  en- 
tering into  the  compact  on  which  as  a  basis  the  union 
was  formed.  A  disposition  to  do  this  would  be  equiv- 
olent  to  treachery  to  that  union  :  to  attempt  it  could 
result  only  in  an  explosive  disintegration. 

The  particular  and  somewhat  elaborate  process  of 
organization  through  which  the  new  Church  became  a 
living,  compact,  efificient  structure  deserves  careful 
examination.  The  Assembly  was  a  body  remarkably 
well  adapted  to  attempt  and  carry  through  such  a  com- 
plex process.     A  glance  at  its  roll  shows  that  not  only 


182  THE    UAION  OF  1S69. 

a  large  proportion  of  those  who  liad  been  actors  in 
the  antecedent  neo^otiations,  but  also  a  great  number 
of  men  who  in  one  sphere  and  another  had  been  lead- 
ing minds  in  both  communions  —  including  seven  or 
eight  Moderators  of  preceding  Assemblies  —  and  also 
an  unusual  proportion  of  elders  conspicuous  in  com- 
mercial and  public  affairs,  were  present.  The  body 
was  constituted  by  the  unanimous  choice  as  Moderator 
of  Rev.  J.  Trumbull  Backus.  I).  D..*  who  had  been  a 
member  of  the  original  committee  on  the  L'nion.  and 
for  nearly  forty  years  one  of  the  honored  pastors  of 
the  Church.  The  Minutes  show  how  large  an  amount 
of  business  was  transacted  during  the  fortnight  of 
earnest  and  diligent  deliberations  that  followed,  and 
with  how  much  of  harmony  the  results  were  secured, 
as  if  in  response  to  the  opening  discourse:  There  is 
One  Hody  and  One  Spirit,  even  as  ye  are  called  in 
( )ne  Hope  of  your  Calling. 

The  first  step  toward  completeness  of  organization 
was  the  adjusting  of  the  boundaries  of  the  several 
synods  and  presbyteries,  together  with  the  question  of 
representation  in  the  Assembly.  An  Enabling  Act  was 
therefore  passed,  reducing  the  number  of  synods  from 
fifty-one  to  thirty-four,  defining  the  territory  of  each, 
determining  the  possession  of  all  rights  and  franchises, 
prescribing  the  manner  of  the  organization  of  each,  and 
assigning  to  each  the  jurisdiction  of  the  several  pres- 
byteries or  parts  of  jjresbvteries  lying  within  its  speci- 


*  Rev.  J.  Tki  Miu  i.i.  B.\ckus.  D.  D..  LL.  D.,  born  Albany, 
N.  Y..  Jan.  27.  1809;  grad.  Columbia  Co]]..  1827;  student  in 
Princeton,  Andover.  Yale.  1832:  pastor  Scbenectady,  1832-7,1 
Died  Schenectady.  Jan.  21.   1892.     II   I)..  Union  Coll.   1847. 


.;.V    I:X.IHI./XC;    act.  183 

lu'd  bduiuls.  I'lukr  this  ciialjlins;  act  the  nuiiiher  of 
the  presbyteries  was  reduced  (hiriiii^  the  \ear  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-five. 
Kecominendations  in  respect  to  tlie  nimiber  of  minis- 
ters in  each  ])reshytery.  com])risinj^  those  witliout 
charui'e  resident  within  the  prescril)ed  Hmits.  were 
adopted,  hut  no  chaui^e  in  the  ratio  of  representation 
was  proposed.  To  discoura_2^e  ])ertinacious  htigation 
in  future  Assemblies,  and  assist  in  the  (hs])atch  of 
business  there,  overtures  were  sent  to  the  presbyteries, 
proposin,gf  that  all  cases  of  appeal  or  complaint  be 
limited  to  the  synod,  except  on  (piestions  of  constitu- 
tional law  or  the  trial  of  a  minister  for  heresy  in 
doctrine.  P>\"  ado])tin*T  these  measures  the  Assembly 
comjileted  the  ecclesiastical  orj^anization  of  the  Church 
so  far  as  this  was  needful  at  the  outset  of  the  denom- 
inational life. 

The  second  step  in  the  process  was  the  adjustment 
of  the  several  aj^encies  engaged  in  carrying  on  the 
church  work.  —  permanent  committees  on  one  side 
and  ])ermanent  boards  on  the  other,  with  their  re- 
spective secretaries  and  other  officials  —  the  general 
object  being  to  secure  practical  unity  and  the  highest 
degree  of  efficiency  in  and  through  these  instrument- 
alities. In  respect  to  the  four  main  departments 
already  efTectively  at  work  in  each  of  the  two  Churches, 
comprehensive  statements  of  sphere  and  method  were 
submitted,  and  little  more  was  needful  than  consolida- 
tion, location,  general  rules  for  administration,  and  the 
choice  of  supervisory  and  executive  officers.     A  glance 


184  THE    UNION  OF  1869. 

of  each  of  these  departments  as  thus  adjusted,  must 
suffice : 

The  Assembly  was  fully  alive  to  the  claim  of  home 
missions  as  primal  and  central.  American  society  in 
its  present  formative  state  was  waiting  —  it  declared 
—  for  the  institution  of  pure,  simple  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity. Never  were  such  imperial  opportunities  pre- 
sented for  rapid  and  successful  evangelization.  This 
work  —  it  was  added  —  was  now  assuming  before  the 
united  Church  new  proportions  and  vastly  greater  im- 
portance. A  Board  of  Home  Missions  was  accord- 
ingly planned,  two  secretaries  and  a  treasurer  were 
elected,  the  location  was  defined,  some  needful  provis- 
ions were  made  for  administration,  the  necessary  legis- 
lation was  provided  for,  the  appointment  of  district 
missionaries  was  approved  under  prescribed  conditions, 
competent  support  for  missionaries  was  urged,  and  the 
whole  Church  was  encouraged  to  prosecute  this  work 
with  a  hope  of  being  able  to  occupy  every  point  of 
influence  in  this  vast  country  in  the  name  of  the 
Master. 

Similar  provisions  were  made  for  the  constituting 
of  three  other  Boards,  to  have  charge  of  the  depart- 
ments of  education,  of  church  erection,  and  of  publica- 
tion respectively,  with  all  needful  arrangements  as  to 
place,  office,  treasury  and  sphere.  The  claim  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  with  its  six  hundred  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  was  earnestly  commended  to  the  sym- 
pathy and  support  of  all  the  churches,  —  especially  in 
view  of  the  widened  opportunity  and  the  enlarged  de- 
mand for  efficient  ministerial  service.  Some  needful 
adjustments   were   made   in   organizing  the   Board   of 


ADJLSTMEST    OI-    BOARDS.  185 

lliurch  l-'.rcotion,  and  this  aj;cncv  was  also  recognized 
with  emphasis  as  a  most  vahiahle  help  in  establishing 
the  Church  everywhere.  —  in  the  cities,  on  the  prairies, 
along"  the  railways,  and  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 
The  lioard  oi  I'uhlication  as  thus  organized  was  com- 
mended in  terms  e(iuall\-  strong:  instructions  were 
given  io  it  respecting  Sabbath  School  literature, 
psalmod\  and  other  ])ublications  :  the  a])pointment  of 
colporteurs  was  advised,  and  a  central  house  of  ])ubli- 
cation  was  judged  to  be  an  essential  adjunct  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  work  in  this  (le|)artment.  —  a  work 
earnestly  declared  to  be  one  of  vital  moment  to  the 
whole  Church. 

A  fifth  agency,  a  Hoard  of  Foreign  Missions,  was 
also  established  by  the  Assembly,  with  provisions  and 
adjustments  similar  to  those  just  mentioned.  The  way 
to  such  a  step  had  been  made  clear  by  a  conference 
with  the  official  representatives  of  the  American  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions- — a  conference  eminently  friendly 
and  satisfactory,  in  which  proposals  for  the  transfer 
of  certain  missions  with  their  property,  and  for  the 
adjustment  of  the  ecclesiastical  relation  of  the  mission- 
aries concerned,  were  amicably  made  and  cordially 
accepted.  That  venerable  institution  —  as  it  was  de- 
scribed —  was  assured  of  the  continued  sympathy  and 
good  will  of  the  Church,  although  the  Church  felt  'tself 
constrained  in  the  interest  of  the  general  cause  to 
assume  the  entire  charge  of  the  missionary  work  with- 
in its  own  jurisdiction.  While  individual  donors  were 
regarded  as  still  at  liberty,  if  such  was  their  prefer- 
ence, to  contribute  to  the  treasury  of  the  American 
Board,  the  churches  were  counseled  to  sustain  the  de- 


186  THE    UNION  OF  1869. 

nominationar agency,  now  ai)pointe(l,  with  their  means 
and  with  their  prayers. 

The  work  among  the  freedmen  and  the  provision 
for  the  rehef  of  disabled  ministers  were  carefully  con- 
sidered by  the  Assembly,  and  permanent  committees 
—  which  afterward  became  Boards  —  were  appointed 
under  suitable  regulations  to  care  for  these  two  im- 
portant interests.  The  vast  significance  of  the  former 
■work  was  strongly  emphasized  in  its  bearings  both 
ui)on  the  religious  culture  of  the  colored  race  and 
upon  the  moral  welfare  of  the  south  and  of  the  whole 
countr\ .  The  committee  was  empowered,  acting  in 
conjunct  J  )ii  with  the  Boards  already  constituted,  to 
receive  and  disburse  funds,  to  sustain  existing  institu- 
tions and  organize  others  for  the  education  of. the 
negro  population.  The  committee  on  ministerial  relief 
received  s])ecial  instructions  in  regard  to  the  collection 
and  disbursement  of  funds,  and  the  cause  itself  was 
warmly  commended  to  the  churches  as  one  deserving 
their  cordial  sympathy  and  aid.  .And  with  all  these 
various  agencies  thus  established,  the  Church  was 
fully  equipped  at  the  outset  of  its  organized  life,  for 
practical  endeavor  in  every  department  of  evangelical 
and  beneficent  service.  .\11  that  tht-  experience  of 
lialf  a  century  had  suggested  as  desirable  was  now  in 
order  and  fully  empowered,  and  nothing  more  was 
needful  except  a  correspondent  temper  of  work  and 
sacrifice,  to  carry  on  a  truly  benevolent,  a  truly  apos- 
tolic mission  for  the  Church  and  for  mankind. 

The  thirtl  ste])  in  the  process  of  organization  here 
considered  was  the  adjustment  of  the  relations  between 


SEM/X.-IR/HS   .-iXD    THE    ClILRCII.  187 

the  Church  and  the  theological  .seminaries  alreaclv  ex- 
istini;;^  within  its  ecclesiastical  domain.  These  institu- 
tions, founded  chiefly  hefore  the  .separation  of  1837, 
and  acting^  under  the  auspices  of  the  one  or  the  other  of 
the  two  uniting^  Churches  during  that  separation,  had 
heen  estal)lished  and  conducted  on  principles  in  some 
res])ects  ijuite  diverse.  Those  affiliating  with  the 
Church,  (.).  .'>.  had  heen  constituted  hy  the  Assembly 
directly,  their  teachers  and  managers  elected  by  it, 
their  funds  chiefly  under  its  control,  and  their  courses 
of  instruction  and  their  theological  teachings  subject 
to  its  supervision.  Those  affiliating  with  the  Church 
X.  !^.  though  they  had  always  been  cherished  as  its 
s])ecial  wards  and  representatives,  had  made  annual 
re])(irts  to  its  .\sseml)lies.  and  were  often  formallv 
endorsed  by  it.  were  originally  founded,  as  they  were 
afterwards  supported,  entirely  through  the  generous 
zeal  and  sacrifice  of  Presbyterians  acting  indei)endentlv 
in  their  several  localities.  Their  charters  were  con- 
ferred not  by  ecclesiastical  but  bv  the  civil  authorities, 
and  their  funds  and  interests  were  in  the  hands  of 
boards  of  trustees  or  directors  whf)  were  not  respon- 
sible to  the  .Assem])ly  for  their  administration,  and  who 
provided  jx'r])etuallv  for  their  own  succession,  outside 
of  any  direct  ecclesiastical  oversight. 

To  bring  two  classes  of  institutions  so  unlike  in 
their  origin  and  constitution  and  their  antecedent  rela- 
tions to  the  Churches  for  whose  benefit  the\-  were 
severally  maintained,  under  one  uniform  plan,  in  one 
and 'the  same  sort  of  relaticmship  to  the  Church  of  the 
L'nion.  was  early  seen  to  be  unattainable  ;  and  the  .As- 
sembly of  1869  wisely  declared  that  complete  uniform- 


188  THE   UNION  OF  1869. 

ity  was  impracticable,  and  the  attempt  to  secure  it 
altogether  undesirable.  It  was  well  known  that  to 
require  the  seminaries  of  the  second  class  to  surrender 
their  autonomy,  put  aside  their  civil  charters,  place 
their  funds  under  the  control  of  the  Assembly,  and 
confer  on  that  body  a  supreme  right  to  elect  their 
teachers  and  direct  their  internal  administration,  or 
in  case  of  refusal  to  relegate  such  seminaries  to  an 
inferior  position  within  the  Church,  or  regard  as  less 
worthy  their  claim  upon  the  sympathy  and  support  of 
the  entire  body,  would  have  rendered  the  Union  im- 
possible. A  more  feasible  and  equitable  scheme  was 
therefore  devised.  It  was  agreed  that  in  seminaries 
of  the  first  class  the  several  boards  of  directors  should 
have  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  own  number,  to 
elect  or  remove  teachers,  to  conduct  the  internal  aflfairs 
of  such  institutions  at  their  own  discretion,  —  the  As- 
sembly retaining  the  right  to  veto  any  election  of  direc- 
tors or  instructors,  to  inquire  into  the  proceedings  of 
the  several  boards,  and  to  require  full  account  of  all 
funds  and  transactions  whenever  demanded.  As  to 
the  institutions  of  the  second  class  it  was  agreed  that, 
while  their  civil  charters  could  not  be  altered,  or  the 
obligations  resting  on  their  boards  of  trust  under  such 
charters  be  ignored,  or  their  true  autonomy  in  any  way 
disturbed,  the  Assembly  should  have  the  right  to  ex- 
press by  formal  veto  its  disapproval  of  the  election  of 
any  instructor,  and  so  far  forth  to  bring  the  instruc- 
tion given  in  these  itistitutions  under  direct  ecclesias- 
tical control.  In  the  explicit  language  of  one  of  these 
boards  subsequently  adopted,  it  was  agreed  that  in 
case  any  Assembly  should  by  vote  express  its  disap- 


coNPrnoxs  or  ixirv.  i89 

jiroval  of  any  election,  such  iirofcssorslii])  should  from 
and  after  sucli  vote  of  the  Assenihly  he  ipso  facto 
vacant.  —  it  not  heins;-  the  pleasure  of  this  board  that 
in  such  case  any  such  [)rofessor  should  continue  in 
office. 

The  sciieme  thus  outlined  met  on  both  sides  of  it 
the  cordial  ajijiroval  of  the  Assembly.  It  was  ex- 
plicitlv  declared  that  this  scheme  wmld  secure  all  the 
uniformitv  necessary  to  ensure  ^^eneral  confidence  and 
satisfaction.  Less  than  this,  it  was  said,  mi^i^ht  excite 
jealousv;  more  than  this,  it  was  added,  would  be 
cumbersome  and  undesirable.  And  when  this  result 
was  reached  with  entire  unanimity,  an  eminent  leader 
in  the  Assembly  pronounced  such  ai^reement  a  conspic- 
uous evidence  that  the  whole  movement  for  union 
was  from  (iod.  And  it  was  added  that  an  agreement 
so  cordial  at  a  point  where  special  difficulty  had  been 
apprehended,  was  an  earnest  not  only  of  perpetual  unity 
and  harmony  within  the  Church,  but  also  of  increased 
efficiency  in  every  department  of  church  work.  Such 
was  the  sober  judgment  of  the  hour;  and  so  far  as 
strict  fidelity  to  this  historic  covenant  has  been  main- 
tained, the  seminaries  of  both  classes  have  for  a  ^ren- 
eration  justified  the  conspicuous  place  then  granted 
them  among  the  beneficent  and  fruitful  agencies  of 
the  Church. 

I'ut  while  the  .\ssembly  was  thus  earnestly  and 
wisely  occupied  with  the  process  of  organization  and 
structure  in  the  three  directions  now  described  —  giv- 
ing form,  coherency,  effectiveness  to  the  Church  ex- 
ternally in  and  through  these  administrative  agencies. 


190  THE   UXION  OF  1869. 

it  was  not  unmindful  of  certain  interior,  more  generic 
conditions  on  which  the  future  existence  and  pros- 
perity of  the  Church  were  seen  to  be  no  less  vitally 
dependent.  Of  these  conditions  the  most  fundamental 
was  the  development  of  a  positive  and  cordial  regard 
for  each  other  as  Christian  men  and  brethren,  on  the 
part  of  all  who  were  henceforth  to  become  members 
together  in  the  one  household  of  faith.  Compliance 
with  this  primal  condition  was  as  difficult  as  it  was 
indispensable.  There  was  much  to  be  forgiven  and 
forgotten  —  much  to  be  changed  or  greatly  modified. 
The  prejudices,  the  jealousies,  the  animosities  of  a 
generation  were  to  be  done  away.  Estrangement  was 
to  give  place  to  unity  and  rivalry  to  love.  Suspicions 
as  to  belief  and  teaching,  diversities  of  usage  or  in- 
terest, the  many  barriers  to  personal  fellowship  which 
had  been  set  up  or  had  grown  up  with  the  years,  were 
all  to  be  laid  aside,  and  a  new  Caritas  like  that  which 
Paul  commended  to  the  believers  of  Corinth  was  to 
take  their  place.  How  difficult  this  personal  task  of 
reconciliation  and  cordial  fellowship  was,  only  those 
who  lived  through  that  eventful  period  and  shared  in 
its  ex])eriences  can  truly  apprehend. 

T)Ut  this  indispensable  culture  was  not  personal  and 
individual  only.  Churches  '  long  more  or  less  hostile 
or  rival  in  their  separation  were  now  to  be  united  in 
common  activities,  and  in  many  instances  to  become 
organically  one.  Presbyteries  were  to  be  composed 
of  men  who  had  lived  apart,  and  possibly  lived  in 
antagonism  for  half  a  lifetime.  Xew  associations  as 
well  as  new  boundaries  were  to  be  instituted  every- 
where as  signs  and  ])roducts  of  the  union  now  defined 


BROrillil^HOOn  —  fA)).IL'J  )\  HI 

aiul  cstaMishcd.  The  apostcjlic  injunction  to  love  the 
brotherhood  was  not  only  to  be  accepted  as  a  supreme 
law  by  each  disciple  in  every  congregation,  but  written 
also  as  a  golden  rule  of  wide  and  tender  import  in  the 
records  of  every  judicatory  from  session  to  synod. 
This  was  indeed  a  difficult  task  —  an  elevation  of  dis- 
position, temper,  activity  in  some  directions  almost 
unattainable,  but  none  the  less  indispensable  to  the 
healthful  life  and  growth  of  the  new  organism.  For 
it  was  fully  realized  that,  apart  from  this  interior  ex- 
perience, this  spiritual  reconstruction,  this  indwelling 
and  triumphing  sense  of  brotherhood  pulsating  through 
its  veins,  all  outward  adjustments  and  provisions  how- 
ever skillfully  devised  would  be  but  worthless,  the 
union  would  become  a  fretting^  bondage  as  well  as  a 
mere  outward  form,  and  the  Church  would  inevitably 
sooner  or  later  fall  off  into  incohering'  fragments,  and 
ultimately  cease  to  be.  How  fully  the  Assembly  real- 
ized all  this  —  how  carefully  it  carried  forward  the 
process  of  formal  organization  under  the  influence  of 
this  fundamental  conviction,  is  apparent  to  every  con- 
siderate reader  of  its  records. 

A  second  condition  of  like  nature  in  the  judgment 
of  the  Assembly,  was  the  cordial  agreement  by  all 
parties  that  the  accepted  polity  of  the  Church  should 
not  only  command  universal  fealty,  but  should  be 
administered  throughout  in  a  free,  broad,  fraternal 
spirit  and  method.  —  in  harmony  with  the  Union  itself. 
It  is  a  fact  of  history  that  Christendom  thus  far  has 
evolved  no  more  effective  or  beneficent  type  of  church 
polit}-.  if  rightly  administered :  but  it  is  also  a  fact 
of  history   that  no    Protestant   polity   works   more   in- 


192  THE   UNION  OF  ISHH. 

juriously  if  administered  in  the  temper  of  tyrannizing 
power.  It  was  seen  to  be  indispensable  to  the  success 
of  the  Union  that  the  extremes  of  intense  ecclesias- 
ticism  on  one  hand  and  mischievous  laxity  on  the 
other  should  be  alike  avoided.  All  tenacious  stickling 
for  forms  or  usages,  all  dogmatic  narrowness  or  per- 
sistency, all  illicit  license  or  lawlessness,  were  by  the 
nature  of  the  compact  to  be  excluded.  Faithful  regard 
for' the  rights  of  the  individual,  cordial  recognition  of 
all  just  prerogative,  an  administration  of  law  as  gentle 
and  brotherly  as  it  is  just,  were  to  be  required  of  all 
—  acknowledged  by  all. 

Both  the  prescribed  prerogatives  of  the  several 
judicatories  and  the  constitutional  limitations  of  their 
jurisdiction  were  to  be  faithfully  regarded.  Central- 
ization of  power  in  the  Assembly  was  to  be  resisted 
as  a  departure  from  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution : 
indifference  to  superior  jurisdiction  or  authority  in  the 
presbytery  was  no  less  a  departure.  Above  all.  a  broad 
generosity  which  could  appreciate  the  fact  that  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  there  are  many  ways  of  administra- 
tion, and  could  rejoice  in  practical  ends  gainerl  by 
whatever  process  admissible  under  the  common  law  of 
the  Church,  was  to  be  the  pervading,  controlling  spirit 
in  the  ecclesiastical  sphere.  That  this  was  the  temper 
of  the  Assembly  itself  is  very  apparent :  that  it  also 
sought  to  enthrone  this  spirit  as  a  supreme  element  in 
the  life  of  the  Church  for  all  the  future,  is  no  less 
apparent  to  the  thoughtful  student  of  its  records.  And 
so  far  as  the  succeeding  generation  of  church  judica- 
tories has  recognized  and  regarded  this  fundamental 
condition,  the  acce])ted  and  enthroned  polity  has  been. 


IfARMO.W  IN  DOCTRINE.  193 

iK'vcT  an  injury,  always  a  lK'l])ful  and  j^racious  clement 
in  the  denominational  life  and  history. 

The  cordial  recognition  by  all  alike  of  sul)stantial 
uniformity  in  belief  and  doctrine  was  the  third,  and 
probably  the  most  important  among  the  interior  con- 
ditions on  which  the  Assembly  regarded  the  life  of 
the  Church  as  deper.denl.  This  uniformity  had  been 
affirmed  in  the  Plan  of  I'nion  itself,  though  the  ex- 
plicit statement  of  it  had  been  omitted  from  the  final 
draft  of  that  document.  .Ml  were  agreed  that  the 
Symbols  were  to  be  interpreted  as  standards  in  the 
Calvinistic  or  Reformed  sense,  and  in  that  sense  only. 
It  was  understood  that  various  methods  of  viewing, 
stating,  explaining  and  illustrating  the  teaching  of  the 
Symbols,  in  accord  with  that  general  test,  were  to  be 
freely  allowed  in  the  united  Church  as  they  had  been  in 
the  two  separate  communions.  But  the  two  extremes 
of  Antinomianism  aiid  Fatalism  on  one  hand,  and 
Arminianism  and  Pelagianism  on  the  other,  were 
—  as  the  first  draft  said  —  to  be  faithfully  shunned  by 
all  schools  and  parties  alike.  In  a  word,  the  uniform- 
ity affirmed  was  to  rest  on  a  distinctiveh-  Calvinistic 
basis  in  hanuony.  not  indeed  with  every  letter  nor 
with  the  interpretation  of  any  special  school,  but  with 
the  substance  and  heart  of  that  Confession  of  Faith  to 
which  all  alike  avowed  their  allegiance  as  containing 
the  SNStem  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

This  ty]X'  or  measure  of  uniformity  was  in  fact 
that  on  which  the  Westminster  Assembly  itself  rested 
while  engaged  in  setting  forth  before  the  world  its 
strong,  compact,  systematical  scheme  of  faith.  It  was 
the  type  of  uniformit\-  in  which  the  .\merican   I'resby- 


194  THE    UNION  OF  1869. 

terianisin  liad  found  rest  in  1758.  after  eighteen  years 
of  contention  over  the  proper  rule  of  subscription. 
It  was  the  uniformity  which  the  two  separated 
Churches,  after  thirty  years  of  disputation  and  con- 
flict, gradually  came  to  see  and  appreciate  as  the  only 
foundation  on  which  organic  imion  was  possible  —  on 
which  a  reallv  broad,  comprehensive  Presbyterianism 
could  build  with  vigor  and  with  hope.  And  there  is 
abundant  evidence  in  the  records  of  the  preliminary 
negotiations,  and  in  those  of  the  Assembly  as  well,  that 
the  Church  being  organized  under  its  skillful  hands 
was  planted  doctrinally  on  this  broad,  yet  firm  and 
distinct  and  sufficient  basis  —  becoming  in  the  full 
sense,  a  Calvinistic  Church.  But  it  should  be  added 
here  that  the  Assembly  in  its  affirmations  and  its  acts 
held  also  that  while  the  Church  was  to  be  stanch  and 
positive  in  opposition  to  error  in  whatever  form,  it  was 
to  be  in  the  largest  sense  free,  cordial,  catholic,  in  in- 
cluding within  its  sacred  circle  all  of  whatever  type 
or  school  who  worthily  wore  the  Calvinistic  name. 

The  remarkable  catholicity  which  the  Assembly 
manifested  in  its  own  acts,  and  by  its  example  taught 
the  Church,  deserves  to  be  emphasized  as  still  another 
of  the  interior,  spiritual  conditions  on  whose  main- 
tenance the  future  growth  and  power  of  the  denomina- 
tion were  to  rest.  The  Assembly  showed  in  various 
ways  its  own  broad,  cordial,  loving  disposition  toward 
all  men  and  all  communions  that  had  a  just  place  in 
the  one  holy,  catholic  and  apostolic  Church  of  Christ 
among  men.  It  welcomed  to  its  convocation  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Lutheran,  the  Reformed,  the  Con- 
gregational   and    other    evangelical    denominations    in 


CATHOLICITY    OF    THE    ASSEMBLY.  195 

America,  and  also  delegates  from  rresbyterian  bodies 
in  this  country  and  Canada,  and  from  England,  Scot- 
land and  Ireland,  and  in  turn  appointed  delegates  to 
each  of  these  Churches,  it  received  a  fraternal  letter 
from  the  Pres])yterian  Church  in  distant  Bohemia,  and 
resi^onded  to  it  with  a  cordial  assurance  of  interest  and 
regard,  to  be  bt)rne  by  a  special  deputation  to  the 
supreme  council  of  that  ancient  and  long  persecuted 
household  of  faith.  It  declared  thv  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism, the  doctrinal  standard  of  the  Reformed  Church 
both  in  America  and  abroad,  to  be  a  valuable  scriptural 
compendium  of  Christian  doctrine  and  duty  proper 
to  be  used  in  family  instruction,  and  in  that  connection 
expressed  its  great  satisfaction  in  the  increasing  evi- 
dences of  agreement  among  all  those  whose  symbols 
maintain  in  common  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  It  also  conmiended  the  free  public  schools  as 
an  essential  part  of  our  republican  system,  conducive 
to  the  moral  unity,  the  common  spirit  and  kindly  sym- 
pathy of  American  citizenship,  and  avowed  its  readi- 
ness to  unite  with  all  Christian  people  of  whatever 
name,  and  with  all  good  citizens,  in  supporting  and 
perfecting  the  plan  of  popular,  as  opposed  to  all  forms 
of  sectarian  education. 

The  most  significant  act  of  the  Assembly  in  this 
direction  was  the  appointment  of  a  delegation  to  the 
Assembly  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  then 
in  session  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  commissioned  to  assure 
that  body  of  the  friendly  interest  cherished  toward  it, 
and  to  propose  fraternal  correspondence  for  the  future. 
It  was  hoped  that  this  might  prove  an  introductory 
step  to  closer  relations,   if  not   ultimately   to  organic 


1V6  THE    UNION  OF  isv.u. 

union.  The  acticjn  was  not  regarded  with  favor  by 
that  Assembly,  and  the  proposal  to  establish  fraternal 
correspondence  was  decisively  rejected  in  a  formal  com- 
munication in  which,  among  other  things,  the  union 
between  the  two  northern  Cliurches  was  said  to  in- 
volve a  total  surrender  of  the  historic  testimonies  of 
Presbyterianism  as  to  some  fundamental  doctrines  of 
grace.  To  this  the  Assembly  responded  with  an  ex- 
pression of  profound  regret  over  the  decision  an- 
nounced, and  of  hope  that  negotiations  might  soon  be 
resu'.ned  under  happier  auspices.  Twelve  long  years 
passed  before  tliat  hoj^e  was  realized  in  an  exchange 
of  delegates,  with  mutual  expressions  of  fraternal  re- 
gard. The  -Assembly  also  commended  the  Historical 
Society,  in  which  all  lVesl)yterian  bodies  in  the  country 
are  associated,  as  an  important  agency  in  preserving 
the  records  of  American  rresbyterianism  in  all  its 
])ranches.  and  all  memorials  of  its  growth,  trials  and 
conHicts.  and  of  those  who  had  been  its  honored  cham- 
pions  in   whatever  branch. 

The  ])ractical  wisdom,  the  sanctified  temper,  the 
tireless  assiduity  manifested  b\-  the  Assembly  in  the 
various  directions  here  described  and  in  others,  during 
its  twelve  or  thirteen  working  days  of  existence,  lift 
it  into  ])rominence  as  the  grandest  Assembly  ever  con- 
v^ened  on  this  continent  —  a  prominence  not  likely  to 
be  superseded  until  the  meeting  at  some  future  day  of 
tb.at  .Assembly  yet  to  be.  in  which  all  varieties  of 
rreslnternianism,  however  separate  nenv,  shall  be 
lirought  together  organically  in  one  continental  com- 
nu'im'on  of  belief,  order,  activity   in   the  service  of  its 


ENCoi  R.u;i\c;  Riii'oh'Ts  —  sr.■^ tistics.     197 

one  aiul  only  Lord  and  KodocMncr.  The  Xarrative  of 
Relig^ion  adopted  hy  the  Assembly  exhibits  in  an  in- 
teresting' form  the  j^eneral  condition  of  the  Church  at 
the  outset  of  its  career.  It  reports  all  parties  and 
sections  as  becoming  one  in  practical  synipathy  and 
fellowship,  and  one  in  loyalty  to  the  accepted  doctrine 
and  polity,  and  to  the  one  divine  and  adorable  Head. 
It  commends  the  movements  in  the  interests  of  home 
missions  and  of  church  extension  as  in  large  degree 
successful.  It  mentions  the  work  among  the  f reed- 
men  as  showing  commendable  progress.  It  represents 
the  Sabbath  School  interest  as  encouraging,  and  urges 
the  establishing  of  mission  schools  in  neglected  dis- 
tricts, especially  in  our  great  cities.  It  laments  the 
prevalence  of  Sabbath  desecration,  of  intemperance. 
and  of  other  social  vices,  and  calls  for  more  strenu- 
ous effort  to  counteract  such  evils.  But  it  also  reports 
the  fact  of  revivals  enjoyed  in  at  least  eighty  presby- 
teries, and  the  addition  during  the  year  as  shown  in 
the  statistical  tables,  of  thirty-two  thousand  members 
on  profession  of  their  faith.  It  pleads  for  large  in- 
crease in  Christian  benevolence  in  view  of  the  extra- 
ordinary demand  for  financial  expenditure.  And  the 
Assembly  crowned  all  its  previous  action  by  calling 
for  the  raising  of  five  millions  of  dollars  as  an  offering 
of  gratitude  to  God  for  the  Union,  and  in  order  to  the 
more  eflfective  prosecution  in  all  its  branches  of  the 
grand  mission  of  the  Church,  as  God  had  clearly  ap- 
pointed. 

The  Minutes  of  the  Assembly  of  1870.  report  the 
Church  as  consisting  at  the  date  of  its  organization  of 
fifty-one  synods  and  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  pres- 


198  THE   UNION  OF  1809. 

byteries  ( reduced  by  the  Enabling  Act  to  thirty-four 
synods  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  presbyteries) 
with  4,238  ministers  and  4,526  churches,  having  an 
aggregate  membership  of  446,551.  The  Minutes  of 
1837,  prior  to  the  disruption,  report  thirty-three  syn- 
ods, and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  presbyteries,  com- 
prising 2,140  ministers,  2,865  churches  and  220,557 
members.  The  loss  through  the  two  secessions  during 
the  interim  on  account  of  slavery  amounted  to  at  least 
sixteen  synods  and  sixty-eight  presbyteries,  with  about 
1,300  churches  and  more  than  92,000  communicants.  -^ 
Including  these  figures  as  representing  a  real  part  of 
the  aggregate  growth  during  the  thirty-three  year?  of 
the  separation,  that  growth  may  be  estimated  at  120 
per  cent,  in  the  number  of  churches  (with  a  like  in- 
crease in  the  ministry)  and  at  135  per  cent,  in  the  roll 
of  membership.  During  the  thirty-four  years  since 
the  Union,  the  increase  in  churches  and  in  ministers 
has  been  about  80  per  cent,  and  in  communicants  not 
far  from  140  per  cent.  These  figures  seem  to  suggest 
the  conclusion  that  the  Union  has  not  thus  far  had  the  ^ 
large  effect  anticipated  from  it,  so  far  as  the  annual 
increase  of  the  Church  is  concerned.  A  comparison  of 
the  contributions  per  member  for  congregational  uses 
and  for  all  benevolent  purposes  also  seems  to  show  no 
increase  but  rather  a  decline  in  the  beneficences  of  the 
denomination  —  a  result  the  more  remarkable  if  the 
vast  accummulation  of  wealth  in  Presbyterian  hands 
since  1870  be  taken  duly  into  the  account. 

But  if  comparative  statistics  should  not  show  that 
the  united  Church  has  grown  in  numbers  and  resources 
since  the  Union  at  a  ratio  superior  or  even  equal  to 


L'XJOX    .1    BLIiSSIXG.  199 

that  of  the  two  combining  Churclies  (hiring-  the  period 
of  separation,  the  l^nion  has  justified  itself  fully  in 
other  wavs.  increase  in  members  or  in  resources  is 
not  always  the  last  or  the  best  measurement  of  the 
.growth  of  any  church  organism  :  in  the  kingdom  of 
God  there  are  other  measurements  of  far  greater  mo- 
ment. 'I'he  I'nion  t)f  1870,  whatever  may  have  been 
the  results  reported  in  tlie  statistics  subsequent,  was 
in  many  aspects  a  grand  fact  accomplished.  It  was 
a  great  thing  to  terminate  a  schism  and  a  rivalry  which 
had  been  prolonged  through  an  entire  generation,  and 
which  had  become  a  scandal  not  only  to  the  two  de- 
nominations involved,  but  to  the  general  cause  of 
Trotestant  Christianity.  It  was  a  vast  gain,  not  merely 
in  economics,  to  consolidate  into  one  group  of  effective 
agencies  the  various  committees  and  boards  at  work  in 
the  separate  Churches,  and  so  to  adjust  and  improve 
these  as  to  make  them  in  higher  degree  useful  as  de- 
nominational and  evangelizing  forces.  It  was  a  large 
advance  in  government  and  administration  when  the 
differing,  somewhat  variant  conceptions  of  the  church 
polity  were  so  fully  harmonized  and  unified  on  the 
basis  of  the  common  Constitution  justlv  and  generouslv 
interpreted.  It  was  a  still  larger  and  more  significant 
advance  when  the  varying  types  of  Calvinism  which 
had  been  warring  bitterly  against  each  other  around 
issues  minor  and  relatively  unimportant,  were  brought 
together  under  the  banner  of  a  broader,  more  spiritual 
unity. —  when  the  long  and  sad  era  of  disputation  was 
ended  in  a  theological  as  well  as  ecclesiastical  recon- 
ciliation. 


200  THE  UNION  OF  1869. 

Nor  was  this  the  whole.  It  was  a  noble  thing  thus 
to  lift  up  the  Presbyterian  name  into  its  just  promin- 
ence, to  cleanse  it  from  the  dust  and  blood  of  gladiator- 
ship,  and  make  it  shine  with  some  measure  of  fitting 
lustre  and  of  brightening  influence.  It  was  a  worthy 
deed  to  set  before  the  varying,  somewhat  antagonized 
sects  and  parties  in  the  land  the  winning  spectacle  of 
disagreements  harmonized,  of  generous  ignoring  of  old 
alienations,  of  unity  attained  through  legitimate  con- 
cessions, and  of  loving  fellowships  reigning  where  dis- 
cord and  alienation  had  once  prevailed.  And  it  was 
worthiest  and  noblest  of  all  to  secure  by  this  combina- 
tion of  elements  and  forces  a  larger  capacity  for  dili- 
gent and  fruitful  service  in  the  vast  field  of  spiritual 
ministration  which  just  at  this  juncture  was  opening 
before  the  organized  Church  —  a  field  as  wide  as  the 
nation,  as  wide  as  the  world.  Assuredly  no  Christian 
organization  on  American  soil  ever  saw  a  grander 
opportunity  awaiting  it,  or  was  consciously  better 
equiped  for  successful  activity  as  one  among  the  evan- 
gelizing agencies  of  the  age.  These  one  and  all  were 
results  actually  gained  or  at  least  made  possible  in 
and  through  the  grand  transaction  of  1869.  And  if 
we  are  obliged  to  confess,  as  we  must,  that  the  real- 
ization at  the  end  of  a  generation  has  not  equaled  the 
promise  or  the  potency  apparent  at  the  beginning,  we 
may  still  rejoice  that  the  Church  has  both  preserved 
faithfully  the  principles  and  heritages  then  possessed 
by  it  and  also  has  done  in  this  land  and  in  foreign 
lands  a  great,  if  not  the  greatest  possible  work  for 
God  and  His  Kingdom  among  men. 


HILL  ruit  rxiox  costixue?  201 

The  task  of  the  historian  is  ahx'ady  ended :  the 
narrative  of  the  g^enesis,  evohition,  organization,  ad- 
vance, maturity  and  consummation  of  tlie  Church 
whose  existence  l)ej^an  in  1837.  and  was  terminated  in 
and  with  the  I'nitinj^  Act  of  1869.  is  now  finished. 
One  serious  (juestion  still  remains  to  confront  who- 
ever thoughtfully  reads  the  simple  story  —  the  (lues- 
tion  whether  the  Church  which  came  into  being  through 
that  historic  Act  will  continue  to  live  for  generations 
to  come,  increasing  in  volume  and  influence,  and  pos- 
sibly including  other  Presbyterian  bodies  now  sepa- 
rated within  its  broadening  communion,  —  or  will  be- 
come itself  the  victim  of  internal  controversies  pre- 
venting such  development,  and  ending  possibly  in 
other  disruptions  or  in  ultimate  decay.  It  must  be  con- 
fessed that  no  section  of  Protestantism  has  exhibited 
stronger  (lisru])tive  tendencies  than  the  Presbyterian. 
Its  divisions  in  I'ritain.  especially  in  Scotland,  have 
been  many  and  marked,  although  it  is  justly  questioned 
whether  the  reasons  for  separation,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  had  any  large  significance  when  contrasted 
with  the  fundamental  matters  in  which  the  separating 
parties  were  in  both  substance  and  s])irit  agreed.  The 
multiplied  divisions  in  America,  once  or  now  existing, 
hardly  seem  more  significant  when  thus  tested.  And 
certainly  the  presence  among  us  at  this  late  day  of  so 
many  Presbyterian  communions,  accepting  in  nearly 
all  essential  features  the  same  standards  of  faith  and 
order,  yet  dwelling  in  separate  tents  and  with  ukm-c  or 
less  of  alien  feeling,  must  be  regarded  as  a  I)lemish 
on  the   Presb\terian  name,  as  well  as  a  serious  hind- 


202  THE   UNION  OF  isi;9. 

ranee  to  the  advancing  of  that  generic  system  of  doc- 
trine and  poHty  which  all  alike  desire  to  uphold. 

It  is  impracticable  here  to  do  more  than  merely 
advert  to  the  causes  which  underlie  or  produce  such 
divisions  wherever  Presl)yterianism  exists.  They  un- 
doubtedly lie  partly  in  the  nature  of  the  system  itself : 
such  an  extensive  and  positive  symbol  as  the  West- 
minster Confession,  such  an  elaborate  scheme  of  gov- 
ernment and  order,  together  with  such  a  type  of 
training  and  character  as  these  tend  to  develop,  may 
easily  induce  diversity  instead  of  concord  in  their 
practical  operations.  \'arious  secondary  causes  sug- 
gest themselves,  —  differences  of  form,  usage,  observ- 
ance, worship,  for  example,  such  as  have  often  rent 
asunder  or  kept  apart  those  who  for  reasons  far  deeper 
ought  to  have  lived  happily  together  within  one  gra- 
cious household.  It  must  be  confessed  also  that  many 
less  creditable  causes,  such  as  the  prejudices  of  race, 
provincial  sentiment,  inordinate  zeal  of  party,  even  po- 
litical differences,  have  sometimes  been  potent  —  as 
history  shows  —  in  sundering  ligaments  whose  health- 
ful preservation  was  essential  to  the  best  life  in  each 
of  the  divided  communions. 

The  noble  Church  whose  horoscope  we  are  study- 
ing cannot  expect  to  be  altogether  free  from  the  in- 
fluence of  such  disintegrating  causes.  In  the  sphere 
of  doctrine,  for  example,  two  conflicting  tendencies  are 
always  liable  to  manifest  themselves  within  it,  —  on 
one  side,  looseness  in  adherence  to  what  is  essential  in 
belief,  a  disposition  not  always  conscious  or  open  to 
decrv  doctrine,  disparage  creed,  exalt  personal  opinion, 
encourage  erratic  notions,  and  even  condone  positive 


rossjHiJi  ri-.Rii.s  xoted.  203 

luresv,  —  on  the  otlier  an  excessive  orthodoxy  wliich 
fails  to  appreciate  the  real  l)rea(hli  and  lihcral  temper 
of  the  Sxmhols.  insists  on  verl)al  suhscrijjtion.  proposes 
niicr()sco])ic  tests  of  hehef,  and  hnrsts  forth  into  noisy 
criticism  over  everv  sho^ht  (hver^ence.  In  the  sphere 
of  politv  also  two  kindred  liahilities  are  apparent,  — 
on  one  hand,  the  lihertv  e^uaranteed  nnder  the  Consti- 
tution may  dej^enerate  in  exercise  into  heedless  license, 
the  just  res^ulations  and  restraints  of  law  disregarded, 
autonomy  changing  into  an  independency  which  is  in- 
ditiferent  to  constituted  authority  and  ever  ready  to 
hreak  out  into  schismatic  revolution.  —  on  the  other, 
an  undue  assertion  and  centralization  of  power,  easily 
degenerating  into  an  invasion  of  individual  rights  or 
local  prerogative,  changing  possibly  into  a  subtle  tyr- 
anny exercised  by  adroit  minds  to  the  injury  or  the 
overthrow  of  truth  or  liberty. 

Questions  of  organization  or  administration  involv- 
ing in  some  cases  real  principle,  in  many  others  simple 
expedienc\-.  mav  in  like  manner  arise  at  various  points 
to  disturb  the  peace  or  impair  the  usefulness  of  the 
Church.  It  is  an  historical  fact  that  Presbyterians 
are  somewhat  more  likely  than  other  Protestants,  first, 
to  invent  a  wide  variety  (jf  ways  to  accomplish  some 
desirable  end ;  then,  to  discuss  at  length  the  relative 
merit  of  these  ways :  and  finally,  to  break  up  into 
])arties  around  the  mere  question  of  method,  —  too 
often  at  last  in  the  heats  of  controversy  losing  sight 
])racticallv  of  the  object  whose  attainment  all  were 
at  first  agreed  in  desiring.  The  several  church  Boards 
for  example,  furnish  constant  opportunity  for  debate 
as  to  their  iiumlxT  and  relative  value,  their  organiza- 


204  THE    UNION  OF  1869. 

tion  and  modes  of  working,  the  persons  officially  em- 
ployed, the  periodicals  or  other  instrumentalities  used 
in  their  furtherance.  The  problem  of  improvement  in 
these  Hoards  is  one  which  by  the  nature  of  the  case 
can  never  be  settled  abstractly  or  absolutely  :  imper- 
fections are  as  inseparable  from  such  agencies  as  are 
the  contingencies  of  accident  in  a  complex  machine  or 
of  disease  in  the  human  body.  It  is  obvious,  niore- 
over,  that  as  the  Church  grows  into  continental  magni- 
tude, and  takes  under  its  care  a  greater  multiplicity  of 
interests  and  demands,  such  questions  will  inevitably 
increase  in  both  number  and  complexity,  and  wise, 
just,  calm  action  respecting  them,  such  as  will  con- 
serve all  conflicting  interests  and  secure  the  largest 
attainable  results  for  the  whole  Church,  will  become 
more  and  more  difficult  as  well  as  more  and  more  im- 
perative. 

These  scant  suggestions  may  be  sufficient  to  illus- 
trate the  fact  that  the  life  of  the  Church  which  we 
are  contem])]ating  is  always  exposed  in  these  various 
ways  to  trouble  or  disaster  :  conflict,  controversy,  alien- 
ation, even  division  may  be  said  to  be  always  hanging 
as  stormy  possibilities  over  its  pathway.  Two  specific 
preventives  or  guarantees  against  such  liability  cannot 
be  too  strongly  enii)hasized.  The  first  of  these  lies  in 
firm.  just,  inviolable  adherence  to  the  historic  com- 
pact, signed  and  sealed  in  the  Union  tlirough  which 
the  Clnirch  came  into  existence.  In  that  comj^act  the 
Church  bound  itself  to  be  and  remain  in  a  compre- 
hensive and  catholic  sense  Calvinistic ;  on  one  hand 
receiving  the  existing  standards  in  their  pure  and  sim- 


AnilliRliNCli    TO    COMPACT   REQCISITE.       205 

pic  nicanins^.  but  oontincd  to  no  s])ecific  mode  of  in- 
terpretin,^'  tlu'sc  standards:  olu'risliiii!^  j^cnerous  toler- 
ancc  toward  all  who  truly  accept  the  "generic  system, 
and  meanwhile  —  in  the  lanj4ua_ye  of  the  Westminster 
divines  —  ever  ready  to  admit  and  receive  any  truth 
not  \et  attained  whenever  ( iod  shall  make  it  known. 
In  that  compact  the  Church  also  hound  itself  to  he  and 
remain  I'reshvterian  :  acce])ting'  as  its  formal  basis  the 
strong",  just,  effective  i)olit\  cherished  alike  by  the  two 
(.'liurches  merged  in  that  Union  ;  abidin^s^  loyal  from 
the  heart  to  the  common  Constitution,  yet  averse  to 
all  t\ramn  and  all  undue  assumption  of  ecclesiastical 
power,  and  reco.e^nizinq-  as  admissible  no  form  of  ad- 
ministration which  is  not  sufifused  with  the  irenic  and 
lovin.i^  tem])er  of  the  New  Testament.  Whatever 
changes  or  adjustments  may  l)e  found  needful  in  its 
a])plication.  the  orj^i'anic  law  itself  from  which  the 
Church  derives  its  name  must  stand  like  its  system  of 
doctrine  unaltered  and  unalterable. 

In  that  compact  there  were  various  concurrent  de- 
clarations and  agreements,  which  from  the  nature  of 
the  Cnion  were  to  be  no  less  sacred  and  inviolable 
than  were  the  accepted  politv  and  doctrine,  and  whose 
faithful  observance  is  hardlv  less  essential  to  the  pre- 
servation of  the  church  unitv  and  life  The  equal 
standing  of  all  ministers  from  either  body  within  the 
united  communion,  the  organizing  of  churches  on  the 
denominational  basis  only,  the  measure  of  authority 
due  to  antecedent  rules  and  precedents,  the  jjreserva- 
tion  of  official  records  and  evidences,  the  consolidating 
of  corporate  rights,  the  i)reference  for  church  boards 
abf»ve    undenominational    organizations,    the    doctrinal 


206  IHE    UNION  OF  1869. 

publications  permissible,  were  each  and  all  essential 
parts  or  elements  in  the  covenant  which  made  the  two 
Churches  one,  and  these  are  therefore  each  and  all  as 
perpetual  as  the  covenant  in  their  sacredness.  The 
agreement  respecting  the  equal  rights  and  prerogatives 
of  the  theological  seminaries  existing  within  those 
Churches  and  welcomed  with  equal  cordiality  within 
the  Union,  has  already  been  mentioned  as  one  of  these 
terms  of  union.  Xo  question  considered  in  that  com- 
plex movement  was  more  delicate,  no  solution  of  rec- 
ognized difficulties  was  more  happily  received,  and  no 
contract  was  deemed  more  sacred,  or  more  unchallenge- 
able. And  so  long  as  the  Church  stands  on  its  granite 
foundations  of  belief  and  government,  so  long  must 
this  article  in  the  compact  like  the  others  be  preserved 
in  its  integrity  and  its  preciousness  ;  to  disturb  it  by 
whatever  form  of  subversive  disparagement  would  be 
treachery  to  the  Union  itself. 

In  that  entire  compact  the  one  ct)mprehensive  guar- 
antee above  and  beneath  all  the  rest  was  love,  —  love 
overcoming  prejudice  and  alienation,  love  cementing 
differences,  love  solving  all  problems,  love  inspiring  to 
mutual  ministrations,  love  blending  all  elements  in 
holy  and  enduring  concord.  It  will  not  be  questioned 
that  the  one  thing  which  more  than  every  other  beau- 
tified and  glorified  the  memorable  transaction  of  1869, 
was  the  Christian  affection  which  characterized  it. 
That  affection  was  the  more  remarkable  when  con- 
trasted with  the  bitternesses  of  1837,  and  with  all  the 
antipathies  and  rivalries  that  followed  after  the  Dis- 
ruption. It  was  the  upspringing  and  blooming  of  a 
Caritas  as  divine  in  its  origin  as  the  Gospel  itself  — 


LOIH    AND    LABOR.  207 

an  un(|ucsti()nal)k'  hcstow  inent  oi  the  Spirit  of  God, 
now  nianifestinj''  its  supernatural  potency  where  alien- 
ation and  division  had  ruled  before.  And  in  that 
heavenly  ijift  Christ  oblij^ated  the  Church  to  mutual 
love  for  all  the  future  —  its  coalescing  bond  both  of 
fellowship  and  of  action.  And  that  Caritas  can  hold 
the  Church  continually  in  doctrinal  unity,  establish 
perpetual!}-  its  polity  and  <;overnment,  render  sacred 
forever  all  its  historic  declaratiiMis  and  covenants,  — 
that  and  that  only.  Surelv  no  branch  of  His  Church 
on  earth  is  more  supremely  pledged  to  live  on  from 
generation  to  generation  under  the  sway  of  that  heav- 
enly love  which  in  so  signal  a  degree  gave  it  birth. 

The  second  preventive  and  guarantee  against  the 
evils  or  perils  which  of  necessity  beset  the  pathway  of 
the  Church  is  an  absorbing  devotion  to  that  broad, 
complex,  grand  work  for  which,  we  may  justly  pre- 
sume, Christ  gave  it  being,  (iod  always  ordains  the 
work  while  He  is  ordaining  and  preparing  the  worker. 
He  gives  spiritual  life  to  no  man,  He  vitalizes  no  body 
of  believers,  excepting  for  some  service  already  planned 
for  and  provided.  On  any  other  hypothesis  such  a 
transaction  as  the  L'nion  of  1869  would  be  whollv  in- 
explicable. How  large,  how  momentous  in  itself  and 
in  its  issues  that  work  is  for  which  Christ  then  brought 
his  alienated  peoples  together  and  made  them  one, 
the  Church  created  by  their  union  has  hardly  begun 
even  yet  to  realize.  Ages  will  be  needful  to  deter- 
mine its  full  measurement :  eternity  alone  can  compre- 
hend its  magnitude  or  its  worth.  On  its  interior  side, 
it  is  a  work  of  spiritual  development.  —  the  culture  of 
believers  in  knowledge  and  in  piety,  the  evolving  of  a 


208  THE   UNION  OF  1869. 

nobler  Christian  manhood  and  womanhood,  the  Chris- 
tianizing of  the  family,  the  nurture  and  training  of 
baptized  youth  within  the  household  of  faith.  —  in  a 
word,  the  realization  of  what  has  well  been  called  the 
outpopulating  power  of  the  Christian  stock,  producing 
successive  generations  of  renewed  and  sanctified  dis- 
ciples, born  and  matured  within  the  Church,  and 
through  grace  endowed  for  useful  service  in  all  the 
multiplied  spheres  of  Christian  activity  and  culture. 
On  the  external  side  it  is  a  work  of  conquest,  in- 
cluding all  the  many  activities  and  agencies  through 
which  the  great  unsaved  world  may  be  won  for  Christ 
and  thnnigh  Hiiu  brought  into  the  Church.  —  the 
planting  of  churches  in  his  name  on  our  widening 
frontiers,  citv  evangelization  and  rural  evangelism, 
ministrations  to  the  destitute  native  jiopulation  in 
mcnuitain  regions,  to  the  foreign  immigrants,  to  the 
negro  race,  the  giving  of  Holy  Scripture  and  of  re- 
ligious literature  to  the  needy  and  sinning  multitudes 
everywhere,  the  establishing  of  Christian  charities  and 
homes  for  the  sutTering,  and  the  sending  of  the  Cios- 
pel  and  the  missionary  to  all  the  continents  and  islands 
of  the  wide  earth. 

Development  and  Conquest,  growth  from  within  by 
virtue  of  an  indwelling  spiritual  energy,  growth  from 
without  by  virtue  of  the  faithful  proclamation  of  the 
•  ruth  of  Crod  to  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men  the 
world  over, —  these  doubtless  are  the  two  regulative 
laws,  these  the  two  aspiring  aims,  these  the  two  aggre- 
gated results,  for  which  Christ  lias  organized  and 
ordained  the  Church  whose  horoscope  we  are  con- 
templating. —  for  these  He  has  given  it  unity,  strength, 


J    I'Lh'SOX.lL    WORD.  209 

ri'sniirccs,  capabilities  as  i^rcal  as  lie  has  bestow  i-il  on 
any  rinnvli  in  our  land  and  time.  May  it  \nn\v 
worlliN  of  this  gracious,  sublime  ealliui;.  I'or  uian\ 
an  aL;e  uia\  it  continue  to  be  more  and  more  what  \\v 
has  planned  it  to  l)ecome,  —  surrenderinjj  itself  wholly, 
consecratino;  all  its  heritaiies  and  ])o\vers,  to  Him 
who  conferred  upon  it  so  noble  a  mission. 


It  was  the  rich  ])rivile,ue  of  tlu'  writer  of  this  His- 
torical Review  to  receive  his  ordination  to  the  ministry, 
more  than  titty  years  ai;«>,  by  the  laying-  on  of  hands 
of  the  Church  whose  brief  but  impressive  biooraphy 
is  hero  recited.  It  was  also  his  ])rivilege  to  stand 
jovfullv  in  his  place  as  one  of  its  loyal  servitors  from 
the  dav  of  his  ordination  until  its  separate  existence 
was  ended  in  the  I'nion  of  iSfxj.  He  also  enjoyed 
the  felicitv  of  beini;-  somewhat  in  contact  during  his 
earlier  ministry  with  somi'.  and  later  on  with  many  of 
those  who  were  the  animatinij  and  guidint^  minds  of 
that  Church,  especially  durinti'  the  second  and  third 
decades  in  its  independent  history.  And  it  may  be 
added  that  he  counts  it  a  si.ynal  honor  to  have  had 
some  small  share  as  l)oth  preacher  and  teacher  in  its 
experiences,  its  trials,  its  efforts  and  its  successes,  as 
it  advanced  year  by  year  from  the  sta.^e  of  organiza- 
tion to  that  of  stroni^  and  noble  maturity. 

It  is  hardly  needful  to  say  that  the  writer  has  not 
been  animated  consciously  in  the  preparation  of  this 
sketch  bv  anv  imindse  of  ])artizanshi])  or  any  desire 
to  revive  issues  long  past,  or  to  impugn  the'motives 
or  criticise  the  course  of  an\  of  the  actors  in  the  events 


510  THE   UNION  OF  1869. 


here  (lescril")ed  —  actors  who  have  nmv  almost  wholly 
passed  into  the  life  immortal.  Considerations  of  quite 
another  class  have  inspired  him.  ( )ne  motive  has  been 
a  filial  desire  to  chisel  afresh  on  a  tablet  more  or  less 
enduring  the  names  of  those  devoted  and  capable  men 
through  whose  agency  the  Church  was  enabled  to 
grow  in  a  single  generation  into  such  fair  proportions 
and  achieve  such  noble  results  —  names  already  be- 
ginning, too  early,  to  be  obscured  by  the  mosses  of 
subsequent  time.  Xor  is  he  ashamed  to  say  that  his 
pen  has  sometimes  paused  spontaneously,  and  his  page 
grown  dim  with  tears,  as  he  has  remembered  how 
earnestly  and  how  well  they  wrought  for  the  Church 
they  loved.  Another  motive  has  been  to  bring  before 
the  vision  of  a  younger  generation  this  picture  of  a 
Church  which  once  came  into  being  through  great 
trial,  assumed  form  and  strength  with  the  years,  lived 
out  worthily  its  separate  life,  and  then  as  worthily 
gave  up  an  independent  existence,  in  order  that  the 
Church  of  the  L'nion  might  be.  To  candid  and 
thoughtful  minds  in  this  later  age,  alive  to  the  inci- 
dents and  the  teachings  of  history,  such  a  picture, 
though  traced  with  a  tremulous  hand,  can  hardly  fail 
either  to  awaken  interest  in  the  story  told,  or  to  sug- 
gest profitable  lessons  for  the  present  and  the  future. 
Xor  is  the  writer  without  the  still  larger  hope  that  the 
noble  Church,  to  which  he  has  cordially  given  a  gener- 
ation of  service,  and  for  whose  growth  and  usefulness, 
in  the  seclusion  of  declining  years,  he  offers  daily  and 
nightly  prayer,  might  find  in  this  simple  narrative  a 
tai:)er  to  shine  along"  its  jiath.  a  lesson  in  faithfulness 
and  devotion,  a  warning  so  far  as  needful,  an  encour- 


211  A   FAREWELL. 

aoement  in  every  form  of  Christian  activity,  anf!  an 
assurance  of  preservation,  (levelopmcnt.  success  in  the 
ages  that  are  yet  to  come.  In  this  larger  hope  he  ven- 
tures to  offer  to  tliat  Church,  as  his  last  word, 

THIS    BOOK    OK    REMEMBRANCE. 


Date  Due 

0  17"^ 

^ 

A)6     ^ 

^4tMr?L?/-^ 

th  IK' 

^^JWfcA^ 

■«P 

r 

'!< 

'  2b  ^t 

ST 

.  ---TV 

wiV  2''   •" 

» 

■'■       "'^•■LIlB* 

^- 

"*    'li  '"^G 

umiiigBjin 

tmm 

sm^ 

MT' 

f) 

!.!'^:>ik'>i' 


'^^i. 


